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  Table of Contents 
  Chapter 1: Nature of the Far Realm ................................................................................................................. 1 
       The Far Realm .................................................................................................................................................. 1 
       Nature of the Great Old Ones .................................................................................................................... 2 
       Variant Rule: Alienation............................................................................................................................... 3 
  Chapter 2: Classes ................................................................................................................................................ 5 
  Chapter 3: Backgrounds ................................................................................................................................... 19 
  Chapter 4: Items.................................................................................................................................................. 23 
       Trinkets........................................................................................................................................................... 23 
       Magic Items .................................................................................................................................................... 24 
       Artifacts ......................................................................................................................................................... 26 
  Chapter 5: Monsters .......................................................................................................................................... 29 
  Chapter 6: Spells ................................................................................................................................................ 36 
  Appendix A: Madness ........................................................................................................................................ 40 
   
   
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  Lovecraft Handbook is published by Mage Hand Press under the Open Game License version 1.0a. Copyright 2016 Mage Hand Press. All Rights Reserved 
  
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  Chapter 1: Nature 
  of the Far Realm 
  The Far Realm is a maddening place, divorced from reality, 
  and the source of aberrations.  
       What we see is only a small sliver of the universe. Just 
  beyond the perceptions of this world is a myriad of planes, 
  no two of them alike. Some planes are dominated by fire, 
  others by ice, others still correspond to the purest 
  expressions of ideals and thought. Each of these planes  
  are balanced by their opposites, delicately weighted in a 
  perfect cosmic order. However, there is a region outside 
  the multiverse, impossibly large, which defies our very 
  comprehension. 
  The Far Realm 
  In the Far Realm, reality itself is radically different. 
  Concepts like gravity and time do not apply here, yet 
  unimaginably vast and powerful creatures dwell in the 
  pandemonium. These pseudo-gods, known variously as the 
  Great Old Ones or the Elder Evils, are fundamentally alien 
  in every respect; their motives are incomprehensible, their 
  forms are inconceivable, and knowledge of their very 
  existence can drive men mad. Interactions with this realm, 
  and the corruption it spreads at the various contact-points to 
  our world, gives rise to all aberrations. 
  Layers of the Far Realm 
  From the perspective of the Far Realm side, a gate to the 
  multiverse is like a light in the deep darkness; tiny and 
  pinpoint, but one that attracts attention. The nature of any 
  possible "inverse corruption" caused by the true multiverse 
  is impossible to nail down, since it would be diffused 
  across the infinite layers of the Far Realm. 
       While the Far Realm is by nature impossible to chart or 
  map, "regions" can be discussed, insofar as their "nearness" 
  to a fixed portal or planar entry point. These regions are not 
  stable, but rather exist contingent on a brush with the 
  multiverse. 
       First there is Proxima, the margin of the Far Realm 
  closest to a continuous planar link. The Vast Gate counts as 
  such, for the Far Realm is disconnected from conventional 
  time; therefore, this portal is effectively a continuous link. 
  This is the region most commonly described by alienists 
  and their ilk: the realm of the Amoebic Sea and the horrors 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  discharged into known reality. Most everything commonly 
  experienced, the squamous tentacles and disorienting soup 
  of insanity, is the most hospitable the Far Realm ever gets. 
  Being located near a continuous link, Proxima is "filtered" 
  by the incursion of reality to appear comprehensible to 
  mortal senses. Note that in this case, "comprehensible" is 
  most analogous to "perceivable" to a conventional 
  spectator. 
       Approxima is the margin that forms around any 
  instantaneous or terminal incursion; smaller and less stable 
  than Proxima, this region is most notable for the repulsing 
  current in antireality that slowly drags intruders back out 
  through the pinhole puncture they caused. Ostensibly, this 
  tethering effect should make Approxima safer, but one 
  should be reminded that this necessarily includes being 
  dragged backward through a pinhole. 
       Next is Mesia, the region where reality's incursion 
  begins to fail. Mesia is where the supposed "facts" of the 
  Far Realm themselves begin to slip away. This margin fills 
  with those entities that combine curiosity with caution, 
  presences that are far removed from the penetration point 
  itself but are near to it in thought. Mesia is severely taxing 
  on the mind and body; reality wanes severely here and very 
  little can be done to protect from that. 
       Distalia is the farthest of what can even semi-seriously 
  be called the "safe" regions, and can run perilously thin at 
  times. This margin often floods with the nothingness 
  
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  beyond, sucking the unwary well outside any possibility of 
  retrieval. Recognition begins to plummet off here as any 
  veneer of reality mutates into warped abstractions and the 
  native entities shrug off their incursion-inflicted forms. 
  Distalia is effectively the glimmer of light in the darkness 
  for the lords of the Far Realm, and those that did not 
  project forward into Mesia to observe an incursion will 
  likely impose their presence here, should they be at all 
  interested. 
       Finally, Ultimon is not so much a region as a 
  borderline. Ultimon represents the terminus of reality's 
  influence and the effective event horizon of the Far Realm. 
  To enter Ultimon is to give up any reasonable hope of 
  escaping the strange plane, and marks you for certain 
  doom. The mind cannot interpret the nature of Ultimon. 
  Portals to the Far Realm 
  Where the Far Realm breaches into our reality, corruption 
  abounds. Living things that pass through a portal or live in 
  close proximity to one may become perverted by its 
  influence, transforming into a twisted mockery of 
  themselves. The ecosystem around an open portal conforms 
  to this pattern, becoming steadily more corrupted nearer to 
  the opening.  
       A few stable, permanent holes into the Far Realms have 
  been crafted by foolish mortals. To stem its influence from 
  spilling through, the gods have dammed them up by placing 
  immense obstacles, such as mountains and glaciers, atop 
  them, and, for those where this is impossible, appointed 
  orders of monastic sentries to safeguard the entryways from 
  the horrors beyond.  
       One of the largest of these portals is known as the Vast 
  Gate, which was opened by "Elder Elves" in ages past, 
  destroying their civilization in the process. Similarly, 
  opening a new portal to the Far Realm would likely have 
  disastrous consequences today. It is guarded by the Order 
  of the Cerulean Sign, which wards the portal with the Elder 
  Sign, and slays anything that comes through. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
       Other portals do exist, like the well-researched 
  Leicester's Gap in the Ethereal Plane, but most, mercifully, 
  have been forgotten by mortals to the savage places of the 
  world. 
       Of course, permanent portals are not the only means of 
  entering the Far Realm. Instantaneous apertures can be 
  opened into the plane with the gate spell and its ilk, 
  allowing creatures to traverse in both directions. Such 
  incursions are temporary, and travelers are tethered to the 
  portal on either side, restricting free exploration. It is from 
  portals like these that alienists probe the realm, researching 
  and documenting all that they see.  
  Dreams 
  It is possible to interpret a little of the Far Realm and the 
  Great Old Ones through dreams. When asleep, the mind 
  can understand impossibilities that a waking person cannot, 
  or at least simply doesn't question them. Dreamers explore 
  paradox and impossibility regularly, thus dreams provide 
  some degree of safety for interacting with the Old Ones.  
       Ordinary people, seemingly at random, are chosen in 
  dreams. The Great Old Ones reach out to the mortal realm 
  in sleep, sharing visions of their will to the chosen few in 
  nightmares. As incomprehensible as these visions are, they 
  are strangely compelling to the dreamers. For weeks, 
  nightmares come like a fever in the night, and the dreamer 
  either goes mad from the experience or emerges changed. 
  Nature of the 
  Great Old Ones 
  The Great Old Ones, sometimes known as Elder Evils or 
  the Outer Gods, are not creatures nor gods in the traditional 
  sense. They are unimaginable forces of nature, which gnaw 
  hungrily in the unlighted chambers beyond time and space, 
  listening to the clamor and screaming of all pandemonium. 
  Not simply alien, they are an irrefutable blasphemy on our 
  understanding of the universe. Their motives are 
  incomprehensible, and their power is boundless. The Old 
  Ones are indifferent or unaware of all of creation, yet could 
  sweep it all away with an errant thought. 
       The Great Old Ones confront us with the revelation of 
  forces that are beyond our control, and even our 
  understanding. They represent the stark, meaningless, and 
  utterly foreign universe in which we live. Grasping the 
  extent of their power or understanding a fraction of their 
  ultimate wisdom is to abandon your grasp on reality as you 
  knew it. For most, the crippling weight of this is 
  consequently unbearable. 
  
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  Dark Presence 
  Fighting the Great Old Ones conventionally is absurd. In 
  the game, they shouldn't have ability scores or hit 
  points―assigning them statistics in the first place 
  undermines their very being. Even allowing players to roll 
  initiative or make an attack roll against a Great Old One is 
  a mistake, because it grants them some small shred of hope 
  for defeating the eldritch abomination. There can be no 
  such hope amongst a Great Old One. 
       The Old Ones are a creeping presence, one that seeps in 
  at the corners of the world and infests it with its alien 
  nature. This corruption turns familiar things foreign, and 
  sane things mad. By degrees, this presence should dawn on 
  the characters, with the horrid understanding that comes 
  with it, until the scope of the peril becomes clear. 
       In a campaign which features the Great Old Ones, the 
  enemies to be battled are symptoms, not the disease itself. 
  They are corrupted things, like animals and people, which 
  have been exposed and forever changed by the nature of the 
  Far Realm. Slaying such creatures is a small mercy to the 
  corrupted, but does nothing to slow the larger threat, and 
  indeed, very little can. Perhaps, with great effort, and risk 
  to one's own sanity, a party of adventurers can discover 
  more about the nature of eldritch corruption, and maybe 
  even stem its spread, but nothing can be done about the 
  Great Old Ones themselves. 
  Stars Align 
  It is said that when the stars are right, the Old Ones shall 
  return, and humanity will learn new kinds of fear. This 
  prophecy has guided generations of alienists and mad 
  clerics to believe that the stars, and a number of symbols 
  called Elder Runes, predict the Old Ones' return to our 
  world, and the crumbling of the walls to the Far Realm. 
       While it is true that the eldritch corruption of the Far 
  Realm seeps into our world in irregular tides, the forces 
  which guide them are deeply inscrutable. Portals can be 
  opened into the Far Realm, which act as a pin-prick into the 
  realm's unreality, but nothing of this small, finite size could 
  permanently destroy the barriers between the planes. Only 
  much more powerful rituals acted on ancient gates could 
  allow a mortal to harm this fabric.  
       For the strange, surreal inhabitants of the Far Realm, 
  however, crossing to our world is no great feat. Near 
  portals, they cross in great numbers, corrupting the 
  surrounding landscape. They can appear elsewhere, too, but 
  with far lesser frequency and numbers. It is, perhaps, one of 
  the greatest mysteries of the universe, as to how and why 
  these aberrations navigate the planes unassisted. 
  Variant Rule: 
  Alienation 
  If your campaign features aberrations, the risk of creeping 
  insanity, and looming Elder Evils, consider adding the 
  Alienation ability score to your game. Alienation represents 
  a character's growing knowledge and the resulting insanity 
  that comes with confronting eldritch truths. 
       In contrast to other ability scores, a greater alienation is 
  not necessarily a good thing. As such, each character starts 
  out with 0 Alienation. A character without an Alienation 
  score is considered Ignorant; they are generally sane and 
  have never encountered something from the Far Realm. 
  Such a character will refuse to even believe in such a 
  place's existence without irrefutable evidence. By contrast, 
  a character with a high Alienation has deep insight into the 
  universe, but borders on being insane, for a mortal mind 
  cracks and warps under such weight. A character with the 
  maximum Alienation score of 20 has embraced some part 
  of true understanding, which drives them utterly and 
  irrevocably mad. 
       You can grant characters and additional point of 
  Alienation when they encounter an aberration for the first 
  time, decipher an eldritch secret pertaining to the nature of 
  the universe, make direct contact with an alien creature, or 
  peer into the Far Realm. Any event which calls for an 
  Alienation check or saving throw might also bestow a point 
  of Alienation on a failure, at your discretion. Greater 
  Alienation should walk in lock-step with the story; the 
  characters gain greater Alienation as they come closer to 
  discovering the lingering eldritch truths of the campaign. 
       Progressively higher Alienation scores are divided into 
  the following levels, each of which grant a unique feature 
  while your Alienation score is in that range. 
  Ignorant (0) 
  You know nothing of the terrors of the world. Sleep 
  soundly, child, for there is nothing that can harm you. 
  Aware (1-4) 
  You have experienced the unthinkable, learned a scrap of 
  forbidden knowledge, or seen something from beyond the 
  mortal world. Your eyes have been opened to the 
  fathomless terrors of the universe and they can never be 
  closed. Once you gain your first point of Alienation, you 
  can't lose it. 
       Unsettled. You have disadvantage on saving throws 
  against being charmed or frightened. 
   
  
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  Paranoia (5-9) 
  You have supped of forbidden knowledge and crave even 
  more, yet constantly you find yourself looking over your 
  shoulder, terrified of the consequences of what you have 
  learned. Wherever you look, new patterns take shape, and 
  with few exceptions, they spell danger for yourself and the 
  world at large. 
       Conspiracy. When you roll a critical hit or a critical 
  failure on an attack roll, roll any die. On an odd roll, a 
  critical hit becomes a critical failure, and vice versa. 
  Dread (10-14) 
  You can feel the weight in your gut with every moment of 
  apprehension. Horrors do not simply await you in far-flung 
  realms, but around every corner, and inside every 
  cupboard, waiting to rend you asunder for your trespasses. 
  Worse still, you now know that the greater conclusion is 
  inevitable: when the stars are right, the Old Ones shall 
  return, and everything shall come to a monstrous end. 
       Defenseless. Your armor class decreases by 2. 
  Mania (15-19) 
  The strain on your mind has formed cracks, which show 
  evidently on your thinking and behaviors. By degrees, the 
  normal patterns of the world have grown foreign, replaced 
  with alien designs and esoteric forms. 
       Frenzy. Whenever you deal damage with a melee 
  attack, you can add your Intelligence, Wisdom, or 
  Charisma modifier to the damage roll. However, your 
  maximum hit points are decreased by your level. 
  Revelation (20) 
  Your mind reels as the totality of perspective comes 
  crashing in like a wave. You have achieved a revelation, a 
  fragment of the Old Ones' wisdom from beyond the stars.  
       Whatever hope you once held of maintaining your 
  sanity is lost. Everything you previously knew was but 
  shadow puppets on a cave wall, and now, stepping into the 
  cold, bright light of understanding, you can see vistas more 
  terrifying than man was meant to know. 
       Once you gain 20 points of Alienation, you can’t lose 
  them. Nothing short of a wish spell can repair your 
  damaged psyche. 
       Insanity. When you finish a long rest, roll twice on the 
  Long-Term Madness table (Appendix A) and choose one of 
  those effects. You are afflicted by that madness until you 
  next finish a long rest. 
   
   
  Losing Alienation 
  Too much Alienation has disastrous effects on a mortal 
  mind. A character can lose a point of Alienation by 
  spending a long rest restlessly asleep, pitching and turning 
  with fitful dreams. The character does not regain hit points 
  or hit dice over this long rest nor does it regain expended 
  spell slots of 4th level or higher. 
  Alienation Checks 
  You might call for an Alienation check when a character 
  seeks to understand or interact with the creatures or items 
  that have been touched by the Far Realm. You might call 
  for an Alienation check for the following activities: 
  • Perceiving almost unrecognizable patterns in everyday 
  events  
  • Completing an alien ritual dedicated to the Great Old 
  Ones 
  • Completing an eldritch puzzle using circular logic and 
  fractal geometry 
  • Understanding a madman's motivations, or the behavior 
  of a corrupted creature 
  • Knowing the chants and incantations dedicated to 
  specific otherworldly entities 
  Alienation Saving Throws 
  You can call for an Alienation saving throw at any time a 
  character is confronted by the fathomless wisdom of the 
  Great Old Ones or the surreal inhabitants of the Far Realm. 
  Some creatures might also call for an Alienation saving 
  throw to resist the mind-altering effects of madness. The 
  following are some causes for Alienation saving throws, 
  and their associated penalties for failure. 
  • Touching a corrupted artifact. One Indefinite Madness. 
  • Deciphering an Elder Rune. One Short-Term Madness. 
  • Discovering a living horror from the Far Realm. One 
  Long-Term Madness. 
  • Staring through a portal to the Far Realm. One Short-
  Term Madness and one Indefinite Madness. 
  • Glimpsing a Great Old One's true form. One Short-
  Term Madness, one Long-Term Madness, and one 
  Indefinite Madness. 
  The rules for Madness are in Appendix A. 
   
   
   
   
   
  
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  Chapter 2: Classes 
  Primal Path 
  Rage burns in every barbarian’s heart, a furnace that drives 
  him or her toward greatness. Different barbarians attribute 
  their rage to different sources, however. For some, it is an 
  internal reservoir where pain, grief, and anger are forged 
  into a fury hard as steel. Others see it as a spiritual blessing, 
  a gift of a totem animal. 
  Path of Nightmares 
  The hideous faces of the Great Old Ones have revealed 
  themselves to you in your dreams, and you shall never 
  sleep soundly again. Nightly, you are plagued by 
  unimaginable vistas and the sinister presence of things 
  stranger still. As your sanity hangs by a thread, you can feel 
  the shadow of the Great Old Ones even in broad daylight, 
  pushing you to some unseen conclusion.  
       Your suffering is perhaps a form of worship to those 
  great eldritch things which plague your nightmares. Or 
  perhaps, your pain means nothing to anyone, least of all to 
  the Old Ones. Steadily, mania replaces your rage, and then 
  that too is replaced by a curiously stable madness not 
  altogether different from restless dreaming. 
  Esoteric Call 
  At 3rd level, you have heard the inhuman call of the Great 
  Old Ones. As a result, you have a madness die, which is a 
  d6. You can expend this madness die and add its result to 
  an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw. Alternatively, 
  you can expend madness dice to use an Elder Rune, if you 
  know one. You regain all of your expended madness dice 
  when you finish a long rest. 
       If you begin your turn with no madness dice, you take 
  psychic damage equal to 1d10 + half your level (rounded 
  down), and then regain one madness die. 
  Blasphemous Fury 
  At 3rd level, you are infested with an inhuman energy, 
  which surges when you rage. You can use a bonus action 
  while you're raging to gain 10 temporary hit points, which 
  last until you finish your rage. When you do so, you lose 5 
  hit points, which are subtracted from your current hit 
  points, even if you have temporary hit points. If this ability 
  reduces you to 0 hit points, you lose consciousness when 
  your rage ends, even if you have temporary hit points 
  remaining. 
   
   
   
  Ancient 
  Understanding 
  At 6th level, you are  
  permanently under the  
  effect of a comprehend  
  languages spell (this  
  ability ceases to function  
  in an antimagic field, but  
  cannot be otherwise dispelled).  
  Furthermore, the mysterious voices  
  in your head automatically reveal and  
  decode any hidden or secret messages you  
  encounter. 
  Greater Call 
  Starting at 10th level, you have 3 madness dice, all of 
  which are d8s. 
  Frenzy Aura 
  At 14th level, you project an aura of splitting migraines and 
  disturbing images. While you're raging, each creature that 
  you choose which starts its turn within 5 feet of you takes 
  1d10 psychic damage. Additionally, when you damage a 
  creature that is concentrating on a spell, that creature has 
  disadvantage on the saving throw it makes to maintain its 
  concentration. 
  Bardic College 
  The way of a bard is gregarious. Bards seek each other out 
  to swap songs and stories, boast of their accomplishments, 
  and share their knowledge. Bards form loose associations, 
  which they call colleges, to facilitate their gatherings and 
  preserve their traditions. 
  College of the Mad God 
  In the middle of the night, you hear the music. Every time, 
  it begins the same way, rising from a low drone into a 
  deafening cacophony. The noise is maddening. In your 
  waking hours, your fingers learn to imitate this melody and 
  bring others to your level of psychosis. 
   
  
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       Some attribute the dreadful nightmares to a curse or 
  stress, but you know better. You and others like you are 
  called nightly by the beating of vile drums and the thin 
  monotonous whine of accursed flutes, the sounds of a Mad 
  God who echoes the pandemonium of the universe, and 
  summons you to do something. You know not what. 
  Bonus Proficiencies 
  When you join the College of the Mad God at 3rd level, 
  you gain proficiency in one skill, which is selected for you 
  by the GM. Each night when you take a long rest, your GM 
  can change this selection. 
  Frenzied Strings 
  At 3rd level, you can play an insane tune that anguishes 
  creatures that hear it. As an action, choose a creature within 
  30 feet that you can see. That creature must make a 
  Wisdom saving throw, taking 2d6 psychic damage on a 
  failed save. You can expend a number of Bardic Inspiration 
  dice to increase this damage by the amount rolled. A 
  deafened creature is immune to this effect.  
       The number of creatures affected by this ability 
  increases to two at 5th level, three at 11th level, and four at 
  17th level. 
  Mad Melody 
  At 6th level, you can expend a bardic inspiration die as an 
  action to decrease all saving throws rolled by creatures 
  within 60 feet of you by the amount rolled until the 
  beginning of your next turn. 
  Cacophony 
  Starting at 14th level, as an action, you can create a 
  droning, deafening noise with your instrument. If a creature 
  is concentrating within 30 feet of you, the creature must 
  make a successful Constitution saving throw against your 
  spell save DC or lose concentration. Additionally, all 
  creatures within 10 feet of you take 5d6 thunder damage. 
  After you use this ability, you must complete a short or a 
  long rest before using it again. 
  Divine Domains 
  In a pantheon, every deity has influence over different 
  aspects of mortal life and civilization, called a deity’s 
  domain. All the domains over which a deity has influence 
  are called the deity’s portfolio. For example, the portfolio 
  of the Greek god Apollo includes the domains of 
  Knowledge, Life, and Light. As a cleric, you choose one 
  aspect of your deity’s portfolio to emphasize, and you are 
  granted powers related to that domain. Your choice might 
  correspond to a particular sect dedicated to your deity. 
  Apollo, for example, could be worshiped in one region as 
  Phoebus (“radiant”) Apollo, emphasizing his influence over 
  the Light domain, and in a different place as Apollo 
  Acesius (“healing”), emphasizing his association with the 
  Life domain. Alternatively, your choice of domain could 
  simply be a matter of personal preference, the aspect of the 
  deity that appeals to you most. 
  Dream Domain 
  Understanding your dreams is to peek into a wider reality, 
  occupied by spaces and beings scarcely imaginable to the 
  waking mind. Clerics of Dreams venerate nameless, ancient 
  gods that slumber unseen, whose very dreams send ripples 
  throughout the multiverse. They feel the presence of these 
  beings in their own dreams, and are unshakable in their 
  conviction that they will one day awaken. 
       You understand that there is precious little difference 
  between the visions we have when asleep and the wishes 
  that consume us while awake, for the world that we live in 
  is but a dream that we share. Ultimately, the power of one's 
  dreams can supplant reality, for the two are not so different. 
  Dream Domain Spells 
  Cleric Level 
  Spells 
  1st 
  charm person, sleep 
  3rd 
  detect thoughts, intrusive thought 
  5th 
  hypnotic pattern, speak with dead 
  7th 
  confusion, phantasmal killer 
  9th 
  awaken, dream 
  Dreamtellling 
  At 1st level, you can interpret the symbolism of a dream to 
  learn what sort of fears, concerns, or prophecy inspired it. 
  If a dream originates due to fear or stress on the part of the 
  dreamer, you can gain insight into its reasoning, its 
  emotional state, and something that looms large in its mind 
  (such as something it worries over, loves, or hates.) If the 
  dream is divine in origin, the dreamtelling acts as a  
   
  
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  commune spell, with the question asked relating to a great 
  fear or concern of the dreamer. After interpreting the 
  dreams of a creature, you have advantage on Charisma 
  checks you make against it for 1 hour. 
  Channel Divinity: Slumber 
  Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity as 
  an action to force a creature you can see within 60 feet to 
  fall into a deep magical sleep. This creature must make a 
  Wisdom saving throw or fall unconscious for up to 1 
  minute. Undead and creatures immune to being charmed 
  automatically succeed this saving throw. The creature can 
  reattempt this saving throw with advantage when it takes 
  damage. 
  Living Nightmare  
  By 6th level, when you place a creature into a slumber, 
  they toss and turn in the anguish of a fever dream. When a 
  creature that is unconscious due to your Slumber feature 
  begins its turn, you can choose for it to take 3d6 psychic 
  damage. It does not reattempt its saving throw due to this 
  damage. You can’t kill the creature due to this damage; you 
  can only reduce it to 1 hit point. 
  Potent Spellcasting 
  Starting at 8th level, you add your Wisdom modifier to the 
  damage you deal with any cleric cantrip. 
  Dreamwalk 
  By 17th level, you can step through the world of dreams. In 
  a ritual requiring 1 minute of concentration, choose a 
  creature known to you that is currently sleeping on the 
  same plane as you. You can become a messenger in the 
  creature's dreams, as per the spell dream, though you 
  cannot make the messenger appear monstrous and 
  terrifying. You can then teleport to the creature's bedside. 
  Madness Domain 
  Your power as a cleric comes from the divinity of the Mad 
  God. Every paranoid thought and nervous breakdown in the 
  world empowers the Mad God, and you as its emissary. Of 
  course, little do people know that the Mad God is just a 
  cobbler who lives down the road and smiles kindly at 
  passersby. Well, actually he's a little magpie that flies 
  around at daybreak. Or perhaps he's a wedge of cheese that 
  talks to the clouds? 
   
   
   
   
  Madness Domain Spells 
  Cleric Level 
  Spells 
  1st 
  color spray, hideous laughter 
  3rd 
  intrusive thought, stranger 
  5th 
  hypnotic pattern, yellow sign 
  7th 
  black tentacles, confusion 
  9th 
  dream, modify memory 
  Bonus Proficiencies 
  When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain 
  proficiency with martial weapons. 
  Lunatic Insight 
  At 1st level, whenever you make an ability check, you can 
  choose to use your unique insight to make connections 
  which may or may not exist. If the d20 roll for the ability 
  check was even, you add your proficiency bonus to the 
  check, even if you have already added it. If the roll was 
  odd, you subtract your proficiency bonus from the check. 
  Channel Divinity: Give Madness 
  Starting at 2nd level, you can use your action to force a 
  creature within your reach to make a Charisma saving 
  throw or be deranged for 1 minute. Whenever a deranged 
  creature makes an attack roll and rolls an odd number on 
  the d20, the attack misses. 
  Fragmented Mind  
  By 6th level, your damaged mind is difficult to influence. 
  You have advantage on saving throws against being 
  charmed or frightened, and on saving throws against any 
  effect that would sense your emotions or read your 
  thoughts. 
  Divine Strike 
  At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon 
  strikes with divine energy. Once on each of your turns 
  when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can 
  cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 psychic damage to the 
  target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage 
  increases to 2d8. 
  Enhanced Madness 
  Starting at 17th level, whenever you use your Channel 
  Divinity to give madness, you may choose to give the 
  target a random Short-Term Madness effect (Appendix A). 
  Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you 
  finish a long rest. 
   
  
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  Druid Circle 
  Though their organization is invisible to most outsiders, 
  druids are part of a society that spans the land, ignoring 
  political borders. All druids are nominally members of this 
  druidic society, though some individuals are so isolated that 
  they have never seen any high-ranking members of the 
  society or participated in druidic gatherings. Druids 
  recognize each other as brothers and sisters. Like creatures 
  of the wilderness, however, druids sometimes compete with 
  or even prey on each other. At a local scale, druids are 
  organized into circles that share certain perspectives on 
  nature, balance, and the way of the druid. 
  Circle of the Unspeakable 
  Druids of an Unspeakable Circle are abominations to the 
  natural world. Whereas normal druids venerate nature and 
  assume the shape of beasts, Unspeakable druids can 
  transform into creatures originating from terrifying remote 
  regions of time and space. As they grow in power and 
  influence, the other form further mutates from 
  comprehensible physical bodies and becomes more deadly 
  and bizarre. The masters of this circle transform into 
  hideous monstrosities, unrecognizable as creatures from 
  our own reality. 
  Aberration Form 
  When you choose this circle at 2nd level, you gain the 
  ability to use Wild Shape on your turn as a bonus action, 
  rather than as an action. However, you lose the ability to 
  assume the shape of a beast. Instead, you can only use it to 
  take an Aberration Form with a number of  
  additional traits. 
       Additionally, animals are instinctively wary  
  of you, and you have disadvantage on Animal  
  Handling checks. 
  Lesser Traits 
  At 2nd level, when you assume your Aberration Form, you 
  can choose one of the following traits: 
       Bestial Hide. Your skin is thicker, scalier, or furrier than 
  normal. Your armor class equals 15. At 6th level, your 
  armor class equals to 17. 
       Inhuman Vision. Your eyes are numerously scattered 
  about your body, or are segmented and extremely sensitive 
  to movement. You gain the effects of the see invisibility 
  spell at all times. Also, you gain darkvision with a range of 
  30 feet. 
       Poison Breath. On you turn, you can cast the poison 
  spray cantrip as an action by exhaling from your mouth.  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Aberration Form 
  Medium aberration, neutral evil 
  Armor Class 13 
  Hit Points 15 + 5 × your druid level 
  Speed 30 ft. 
  STR 
  16 (+3) 
  DEX 
  16 (+3) 
  CON 
  16 (+3) 
  INT 
  13 (+1) 
  WIS 
  10 (+0) 
  CHA 
  8 (-1) 
  Senses passive Perception 13 
  Languages ― 
  Challenge ― 
  All Around Vision. You add double your proficiency bonus on 
  Perception checks involving sight in this form. 
  ACTIONS 
  Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: your spell attack bonus to hit, 
  reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) slashing damage. 
   
  
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       Unnaturally Quick. In spite of your size, you can move 
  inexplicably fast, due in part to two extra legs. Your 
  walking speed increases by 15 feet. In addition, you also 
  have advantage on Dexterity checks. 
  Moderate Traits 
  At 6th level, when you assume your Aberration Form, you 
  can choose one of the following traits: 
       Additional Limbs. You grow an extra set of appendages, 
  which are ambiguously neither arms nor legs. When you 
  take the Attack action on your turn, you can use these to 
  attack twice, instead of once. 
       Durable Form. Your maximum hit points increase by 
  twice your druid level. Additionally, you have advantage 
  on Constitution checks. 
       Inhuman Reach. Your arms elongate, allowing you to 
  touch the floor with your hands. In addition, you can bend 
  them in strange and unnatural ways. Your reach increases 
  by 5 feet. Your elongated arms also give you advantage on 
  Strength (Athletics) checks made to climb. 
       Razor Claws. Your claws are incredibly deadly, 
  indicative of a hunter not native to this world. Your claws 
  deal 1d12 slashing damage and are considered magical 
  weapons. 
  Intermediate Traits 
  At 10th level, when you assume your Aberration Form, you 
  can choose one of the following traits: 
       Acid Blood. When a creature within 5 feet of you deals 
  damage to you with a melee attack, your acidic blood 
  sprays on them, dealing 2d6 acid damage. 
       Colossal Form. Your form is that of a strange, 
  primordial titan. Your size doubles in all dimensions, and 
  your weight is multiplied by eight. This growth increases 
  your size by one category―from Medium to Large, for 
  example. You also have advantage on Strength checks. 
  While you are enlarged, your melee attacks deal 1d4 extra 
  damage. 
       Invisibility. You can phase in and out of the visible 
  spectrum, as if light is a strange afterthought this form has 
  never experienced before. You can cast the invisibility spell 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  without using a spell slot. Once you use this ability, you 
  can’t use it again for 1 minute. 
       Tentacles. You have long, whipping tendrils that sprout 
  grotesquely from your form. When a creature comes within 
  5 feet of you or begins its turn there, it must make a 
  Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 4d6 bludgeoning 
  damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful 
  one. 
  Greater Traits 
  At 14th level, when you assume your Aberration Form, you 
  can choose one of the following traits: 
       Antimagic Eye. You have a single colossal extra eye, 
  which you can open and close as a bonus action. While the 
  eye is open, it requires your concentration (as if 
  concentrating on a spell), you can’t cast spells, and the eye 
  creates an area of antimagic, as per the antimagic field 
  spell, in a 15-foot cone. At the start of each of your turns, 
  you can decide which way the cone faces. Your eye closes 
  if you lose concentration on the effect. 
       Extract Brain. You can remove and consume the brain 
  of a helpless victim. As an action, make an attack against 
  one humanoid that is grappled by you. On a hit, the target 
  takes 6d10 piercing damage. If this damage reduces the 
  target to 0 hit points, you kill the target by extracting and 
  devouring its brain. This ability has no effect on creatures 
  without nervous systems, such as oozes, elementals, and 
  constructs. 
       Hideous Appearance. Your appearance is profoundly 
  disturbing, even more so up close. Creatures within 5 feet 
  of you have disadvantage on melee attacks against you.  
       Membranous Wings. You sprout pronounced, slimy 
  wings and gain a fly speed equal to your movement speed. 
  Martial Archetype 
  Different fighters choose different approaches to perfecting 
  their fighting prowess. The martial archetype you choose to 
  emulate reflects your approach. 
  Warshaper 
  Whether due to an errant transmutation spell or exposure to 
  planes of strange, higher-dimensional space, your form has 
  become plastic and you can sculpt your flesh into new and 
  dreadful forms. 
  Morphic Form 
  Choose one of the options from below. You can change this 
  selection when you take a short or long rest. 
       Additional Appendage. You can sprout another limb 
  from your torso capable of wielding weapons. When you 
  
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  take the Attack action and make an unarmed strike or attack 
  with a melee weapon that is not heavy, you can use your 
  bonus action to attack with a light melee weapon your extra 
  appendage is holding, or make an unarmed strike with your 
  extra appendage. You do not add your Strength or 
  Dexterity bonus to the damage of this attack, unless you 
  have the Two-Weapon fighting style. 
       Aquatic Adaptation. You adapt your body to an aquatic 
  environment, sprouting gills and growing webbing between 
  your fingers. You can breathe underwater and gain a 
  swimming speed equal to your walking speed. 
       Armored Flesh. You harden your skin into an armored 
  carapace. While you are unarmored, your armor class 
  equals 13 + your Dexterity modifier.  
       By 7th level, it hardens, and your armor class equals 15 
  + your Dexterity modifier, and at 10th you may also, as an 
  action, form an organic shield. 
       Change Appearance. You transform your appearance. 
  You decide what you look like, including your height, 
  weight, facial features, sound of your voice, hair length, 
  coloration, and distinguishing characteristics, if any. You 
  can make yourself appear as a member of another race, 
  though none of your statistics change. You also can’t 
  appear as a creature of a different size than you, and your 
  basic shape stays the same; if you're bipedal, you can’t use 
  this effect to become quadrupedal, for instance. At any 
  time, you can use your action to change your appearance in 
  this way again. 
       Natural Weapons. You grow claws, fangs, spines, 
  horns, or a different natural weapon of your choice. Your 
  unarmed strikes deal 1d6 bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing 
  damage, as appropriate to the natural weapon you chose, 
  and you are proficient with your unarmed strikes. Finally, 
  the natural weapon is magic and you have a +1 bonus to the 
  attack and damage rolls you make using it. 
       This damage increases as you gain levels in this class. 
  At 7th level, the weapon deals 1d8 damage, and at 15th 
  level, the weapon deals 1d10 damage. 
       Wings. You can select this option at 15th level. You 
  grow a pair of fleshy wings and gain a flying speed equal to 
  your base walking speed. 
       At 7th level, you can change your selection as a bonus 
  action, and at 10th level you can select any number of these 
  options at one time. 
  Indiscernible Anatomy 
  At 3rd level, the placement and composition of your 
  internal organs is bizarre. You take no additional damage 
  from critical hits. 
  Morphic Reach 
  At 7th level, when you make a melee attack, you can 
  suddenly stretch and extend your appendages outward. 
  Your melee attacks gain Reach if they did not have it 
  already. 
  Morphic Mind 
  At 10th level, your mind is as flexible as your body. You 
  can add half your proficiency bonus to a skill of your 
  choice. You can change this selection when you take a 
  short or long rest. 
       Additionally, you have advantage on saving throws 
  against being charmed and no magical effect can read your 
  mind. 
  Morphic Healing 
  By 15th level, as a bonus action, you can expend a Hit Die 
  to use Second Wind without expending a use of the feature. 
       You can use this feature a number of times equal to your 
  Constitution modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all 
  expended uses when you finish a long rest. 
  Morphic Body 
  Beginning at 18th level, you can use your precise bodily 
  control to make yourself stronger and healthier. You gain a 
  +4 bonus to Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution. Your 
  maximum for this ability score increases to 24. You can 
  change this selection when you take a long rest. 
  Monastic Tradition 
  Three traditions of monastic pursuit are common in the 
  monasteries scattered across the multiverse. Most 
  monasteries practice one tradition exclusively, but a few 
  honor the many traditions and instruct each monk 
  according to his or her aptitude and interest. All traditions 
  rely on the same basic techniques, diverging as the student 
  grows more adept. Thus, a monk need choose a tradition 
  only upon reaching 3rd level. 
  Way of the Warped Fist 
  Monasteries are places of knowledge and wisdom, but not 
  all things are meant to be known. Monks who follow the 
  Warped Fist are truly enlightened―they understand their 
  place in the vast and maddening universe and have 
  glimpsed the horrible expanses that lay behind our normal 
  perceptions. This wisdom is not benign; it has changed 
  them, inside and out. 
       Monks of the warped fist meditate daily, and experience 
  terrifying visions of the cosmos. Slowly, their fighting style 
  
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  changes to match this perspective, and their bodies align 
  with their twisting minds. 
  Visions of Infinity 
  Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you 
  can twist a creature's ki and share with it the visions you 
  experience. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with one 
  of the attacks granted by your Flurry of Blows, it becomes 
  absorbed in vision, and has disadvantage on the next attack 
  roll it makes before the end of its next turn. Creatures that 
  can’t be charmed are immune to this effect. 
  Twisted Limbs 
  By 6th level, your limbs appear to contain multitudinous 
  joints, and can lengthen and contort to a sickening extent. 
  Your walking speed increases by 5 feet, your unarmed 
  strikes have Reach, and, if you are grappled, you can use a 
  reaction or a bonus action to end that grapple, and move to 
  an empty adjacent space. 
  Distorted Thoughts 
  At 11th level, your thoughts can’t be read by telepathy or 
  other means unless you allow it. You are immune to being 
  charmed, and when another creature attempts to charm you, 
  you can use your reaction to poison its thoughts, dealing 
  psychic damage equal to half your monk level, rounded 
  down. 
       Also, as an action, you can spend between 1 and 6 ki 
  points to produce a psionic blast. Each creature within 15 
  feet of you must make an Intelligence saving throw against 
  your ki save DC or take psychic damage equal to 1d8 
  damage for each ki point expended + your Wisdom 
  modifier. 
  Warped Strike 
  By 17th level, you can fight in unheard-of ways, which are 
  difficult to avoid. Once per turn, if you miss with an 
  unarmed strike, you can immediately make an additional 
  attack. 
  Sacred Oath 
  Becoming a paladin involves taking vows that commit the 
  paladin to the cause of righteousness, an active path of 
  fighting wickedness. The final oath, taken when he or she 
  reaches 3rd level, is the culmination of all the paladin’s 
  training. Some characters with this class don’t consider 
  themselves true paladins until they have reached 3rd level 
  and made this oath. For others, the actual swearing of the 
  oath is a formality, an official stamp on what has always 
  been true in the paladin’s heart. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Oath of the Elder Sign 
  Keepers encounter the Elder Sign in a multitude of ways. 
  Some find it in the derelict pages of an antediluvian tome, 
  yet others see its shape in their very dreams. All who gaze 
  upon it know its authority, as instinctively as animals know 
  to fear fire; it is an icon of power originating from beyond 
  the veil of reality, one that men weren’t meant to know. 
  You have sworn to hold the sign as its Keeper, and vowed 
  to protect the mortal realm from the forces beyond, or 
  vowed to tear reality asunder, and let the Elder Evils 
  henceforth seep through. 
  Tenets of the Elder Sign 
  The principles held by the Keepers of the Elder sign are as 
  esoteric as their ancient order. Dedicated to the secrets of 
  the universe and the keeping them mercifully hidden from 
  the world, the Keepers are a clandestine and influential 
  organization. 
       Keep the Sign. The Elder Sign is a tool of immense 
  power, and must be kept safe. You can scarcely understand 
  the source of power contained in this mere piece of 
  geometry, but you know it can never be allowed to fall into 
  the wrong hands. 
       Seek Knowledge. Whenever possible, you should seek 
  out and acquire hidden, esoteric knowledge. You are drawn 
  to such secrets, like the Elder Sign, and perhaps can turn 
  them against your foes. 
       Go Unseen. It is imperative the struggles you face are 
  kept secret. The forces are work here are barely 
  comprehensible, and their reveal can drive men to the brink 
  of madness. 
  
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       Defend the Gates. It is your job to stand vanguard at the 
  gates that form where our world intersects the Far Realm. 
  You may be protecting it from those who would seek to 
  close it, or you may wish to stem the tide of creatures 
  coming through. 
  Oath Spells 
  You gain oath spells at the paladin levels listed. 
  Paladin Level 
  Spells 
  3rd 
  lashing tendrils, protection from evil 
  and good 
  5th 
  detect thoughts, stranger 
  9th 
  fear, yellow sign 
  13th 
  black tentacles, hallucinatory terrain 
  17th 
  dominate person, planar binding 
  Channel Divinity  
  When you take this oath at 3rd level, you gain the 
  following two Channel Divinity options. 
       Invoke Elder Sign. As an action, you can fleetingly 
  create the form of the Elder Sign, a powerful symbol which 
  can strengthen or wear thin the walls of reality. Choose a 
  space adjacent to you, which is where the sign burns 
  brightly for 1 minute in a 20-foot radius sphere. No 
  darkness, magical or otherwise, can obscure this area. Each 
  creature friendly to you in this area regains 1d4 hit points 
  when it begins its turn and can add 1d4 to its ability checks 
  and saving throws.  
       No aberration, celestial, elemental, fey, or fiend, can 
  enter or teleport within this area, or use portals, such as 
  those created by the gate spell, to enter the area. Those that 
  are already in this area are shunted to the nearest space 
  available. For this reason, Elder Signs are often placed in 
  front of gates to the Far Realm, to close leaks into that 
  reality.  
       Glimpse the Unspeakable. As an action, choose one 
  creature you can see within 30 feet to make a Wisdom 
  saving throw. On a failed save, the creature sees a glimpse 
  of the Far Realm, and is stunned because of this horror until 
  the beginning of your next turn. 
  Aura of Mental Fortitude 
  Beginning at 7th level, you and allies within 10 feet of you 
  have immunity to psychic damage. At 18th level, the range 
  of this aura increases to 30 feet. 
  Word of Revelation 
  By 15th level, your research in musty, forbidden tomes has 
  proven fruitful. As an action, you can utter a word used in 
  the creation of the universe. All magic effects within 15 
  feet of you are targeted by the spell dispel magic.  
       Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until 
  you finish a long rest. 
  Sunder Reality 
  At 20th level, you can call upon the Elder Sign to tear the 
  very fabric of reality, creating a one-way rift to or from the 
  Far Realm for 1 minute. Choose an unoccupied 10-foot 
  diameter sphere that you can see where the portal opens. 
       Staring into the portal can have mortal consequences, 
  yet creatures are strangely drawn to its starry void. When a 
  creature other than yourself within 15 feet of the sphere 
  attempts to move away from it, it must make a Wisdom 
  saving throw. On a successful save, the creature can move 
  normally, but on a failed save, the creature loses all of its 
  movement and instead moves 5 feet closer to the sphere. 
       If a creature comes within 5 feet of the sphere, or begins 
  its turn there, it takes 8d10 psychic damage. Within 10 feet 
  of the sphere, a creature takes 4d10 psychic damage, and 
  within 15 feet, it takes 2d10. 
       Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until 
  you finish a long rest. 
  Ranger Archetype 
  The ideal of the ranger can have many expressions. 
  Mistdrinker 
  Sometimes to combat evil, you must become one with it. 
  This is the conclusion begrudgingly accepted by most 
  mistdrinkers, those who consume the addictive Dead Mists 
  of Rlyeh in order to combat those who use it freely.  
       Mistdrinker regulate their consumption of the Dead 
  Mists carefully; the Mists are inherently evil, but its power 
  is undeniable. So too, is its cost. All mistdrinkers know that 
  their deaths are a foregone conclusion: they will perish 
  defending our reality, or allow the Mists to consume them. 
  Before that time, they are dedicated to slaying aberrations, 
  burning eldritch secrets, and sealing away every portal 
  through which the Dead Mists seep forth. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Revised Ranger 
  This archetype makes use of the revised ranger class. 
  If you wish to use it with the ranger included in the 
  SRD, remove the Extra Attack feature at 5th level.  
  
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  Inhale the Mists 
  Starting when you choose this conclave at 3rd level, you 
  can consume the Dead Mists as a bonus action to make 
  yourself tougher and deadlier. When you do so, you can 
  choose to take 10, 20, or 30 points of necrotic damage. You 
  gain the same amount in temporary hit points. Damage 
  from this ability ignores both damage resistance and 
  damage immunity, and does not subtract from your 
  temporary hit points, if you have any.  
       At the beginning of each of your turns, you lose 5 
  temporary hit points. For every 5 points of temporary hit 
  points you have, you have a +1 bonus to your weapon 
  damage rolls. 
  Extra Attack 
  Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of 
  once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. 
  Fog Armor 
  At 7th level, you can use a bonus action to increase your 
  armor class by 1d8 until the beginning of your next turn. 
  When you do so, you take 2d8 necrotic damage from your 
  hit points. Damage from this ability ignores both damage 
  resistance and damage immunity, and does not subtract 
  from your temporary hit points, if you have any. If the 
  damage you take from this ability exceeds the number of 
  hit points you have remaining, the ability fails. 
  Draining Presence 
  Starting at 11th level, the Dead Mists' hunger gnaws at 
  those near you. Once per turn, when you deal damage with 
  a melee weapon attack, the Mists surround you, and each 
  creature within 5 feet of you takes 2d8 necrotic damage. 
  Mistdeath 
  At 15th level, you can inhale a lethal dose of the Dead 
  Mists as a bonus action. For the next minute, you can't be 
  knocked unconscious. If you drop to zero hit points, you do 
  not begin to make death saving throws. At the end of this 
  minute, you immediately drop to 0 hit points and 
  immediately begin to make death saving throws. 
       Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until 
  you finish a long rest. 
  Roguish Archetype 
  Rogues have many features in common, including their 
  emphasis on perfecting their skills, their precise and deadly 
  approach to combat, and their increasingly quick reflexes. 
  But different rogues steer those talents in varying 
  directions, embodied by the rogue archetypes. Your choice 
  of archetype is a reflection of your focus—not necessarily 
  an indication of your chosen profession, but a description 
  of your preferred techniques. 
  Investigator 
  There are forces more ancient than time, larger than the 
  multiverse, and more powerful than gods. They slumber 
  now in the blackness between stars, behind prison walls of 
  eternity. But, one day when the stars are right, The Old 
  Ones will awaken, and we will come to learn new kinds of 
  fear. 
       Some understand how perilously close we stand to a 
  world replete with woe and terror. At the risk of their own 
  sanity, they investigate the eldritch madness that seeps into 
  this world in hopes of turning it back, or at the very least, 
  delaying it. 
  Elder Secrets 
  Beginning when you select this archetype at 3rd level, you 
  can invoke a limited number of eldritch secrets which erode 
  your very sanity. 
       Madness Dice. You have a pool of 3 madness dice, 
  which are d6s. You may expend a madness die and add its 
  result to an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw you 
  make. Alternatively, you can expend madness dice to use 
  an Elder Rune. You regain all of your expended madness 
  dice when you finish a long rest. 
       If you begin your turn with no madness dice in your 
  pool, you gain a Long-Term Madness effect (Appendix A), 
  which ends when you take a short or long rest. You then 
  regain one expended madness die. 
       Elder Runes. By 3rd level, your investigations have 
  granted you terrible insight into magic older than the 
  universe itself, which comes at the cost of your own sanity. 
  You learn two elder runes of your choice, which you may 
  use by expending a madness die. You learn an additional 
  elder rune of your choice at 9th, 13th, and 17th level. 
       Additionally, when you learn a new elder rune, you can 
  choose one of the elder runes you know and replace it with 
  another one. 
       Saving Throws. Some of your elder runes require your 
  target to make a saving throw to resist its effects. The 
  saving throw DC is calculated as follows: 
  Elder Rune save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your 
  Intelligence modifier. 
  Investigator’s Insight 
  At 3rd level you have honed your investigative skills to a 
  fine point. You gain advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks 
  to determine if someone is lying. 
  
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       By 9th level, clues rarely escape your observation, and 
  you gain advantage on Intelligence (Investigation) checks 
  to detect hidden or out of place items. 
  Occult Secrets 
  At 9th level, your madness dice become d8s. When you 
  choose to add a madness die to an attack roll, you can add 
  its result to damage as well. 
  Physic Resolve 
  At 13th level, you gain another madness die, and one more 
  at 17th level. Additionally, you gain resistance to psychic 
  damage at 13th level. 
  Elder Runes 
  These elder runes are listed in alphabetical order. 
  Become Other 
  As an action, you can designate a willing humanoid 
  creature within your reach. For up to 1 hour, you sound like 
  and you appear—including your clothing, armor, weapons, 
  and other belongings on your person—to be the designated 
  creature. Likewise, the creature appears to be you. These 
  changes hold up to physical inspection, but do not confer 
  changes in movement or behavior. To discern that you are 
  disguised, a creature can use its action to inspect your 
  appearance and must succeed on an Intelligence 
  (Investigation) check made with disadvantage. You can 
  dismiss this effect as a bonus action, reverting both you and 
  the target creature to your original appearances. 
  Confound the Senses 
  As an action, select 1 creature you can see within 60 feet to 
  make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, you are 
  invisible and silent to that creature for 1 minute. The 
  creature can reattempt this saving throw with advantage if 
  it takes damage. 
  Convolute Space 
  As a reaction when a creature ends its movement, you can 
  contort space and time around it. The creature must make a 
  Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature 
  teleports to the location it occupied before moving. 
  Distort Gravity 
  As an action, select a surface within 100 feet of you. For 
  the next minute, any creature within 100 feet of you may 
  walk on that surface as if it were level ground, even if the 
  surface is perpendicular to the ground or upside down. 
  Objects within this area, up to 15 feet away from that 
  surface, also fall to it as if it were the ground. When the 
  duration ends, all creatures and objects fall. 
  Hold of Hastur 
  As an action, you can call tendrils of dark energy to creep 
  forth and entangle a single creature you can see within 30 
  feet. This creature must make a Strength saving throw or be 
  restrained until the end of its next turn. 
  Invoke the Unspeakable Name 
  As an action, you speak a few syllables of a name 
  forbidden by the gods. Creatures that can hear you within 
  30 feet must make a Wisdom saving throw or be deafened 
  for 1 minute. 
  Logical Leap 
  As an action, you can teleport up to 60 feet in a direction 
  that you choose. If you would arrive in a place already 
  occupied by an object or creature, you are immediately 
  shunted to the nearest unoccupied space that you can 
  occupy and take force damage equal to twice the number of 
  feet you are moved. 
  Protect Threshold 
  As an action, you can ward a doorway, window, or other 
  portal from entry. For the next 1 minute, an invisible 
  eldritch creature stalks the warded portal. Creatures that 
  attempt to pass through must make a Wisdom saving throw 
  or take 4d6 psychic damage, or half as much on a 
  successful save. 
  Rumor Dust 
  As a bonus action, you become covered in a fine cloud of 
  dust. For up to 10 minutes or until you make an attack or 
  cast a spell, no creature will be able to remember details 
  about you or events that have taken place during this time, 
  except for the most basic details. Creatures will be able to 
  remember that someone was present and spoke to them, for 
  example, but be unable to remember your race, attire, or 
  other distinguishing features, nor will they remember the 
  topic of conversation. 
  Speak the Old Tongue 
  As a bonus action, you can speak in a dead, inhuman 
  language derived from that of the Great Old Ones. For the 
  next minute, no creature can understand precisely what you 
  say, but any creature that can hear you can understand the 
  meaning and intent behind your speech. 
  Visions of Beyond 
  As an action, you can make a creature you can see within 
  30 feet perceive terrifying images of unreal vistas. That 
  creature must make a Wisdom saving throw or be blinded 
  until the beginning of your next turn. 
   
  
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  Sorcerous Origin 
  Different sorcerers claim different origins for their innate 
  magic. Although many variations exist, most of these 
  origins fall into two categories: an eldritch bloodline and 
  the influence of wild magic. 
  Aberrant Bloodline 
  You are descendant from a foul creature, and its blood 
  wreaks havoc in your family tree. Those in your house are 
  rarely and seemingly at random born hideous, and with 
  terrifying powers, and as such, generation after generation 
  has committed infanticide on the abominations. You are 
  one such monster, cursed at birth yet spared the knife by 
  your mother, free to live out your miserable span of 
  existence a freak divorced from society. Yet your power 
  grows, as fearsome as your aspect and as dreadful as your 
  glare. 
  Aberration Blood 
  Beginning when you select this origin at 1st level, your 
  skin is thicker, scalier, or furrier than normal. When you 
  aren’t wearing armor, your armor class equals 13 + your 
  Dexterity modifier. 
       Additionally, you gain darkvision, with a range of 30 
  feet of you. If you already have darkvision, its range 
  increases by 30 feet. 
  Hideous Appearance 
  At 1st level, your appearance is hideous to behold. You can 
  add double your proficiency bonus to Intimidation checks, 
  but you have disadvantage on Persuasion checks. Unless 
  you wear a large cloak to conceal these deformities, you are 
  disturbing to behold. 
   
   
  Inhuman Reach 
  At 6th level, your arms elongate, allowing you to touch the 
  floor with your hands. In addition, you can bend them in 
  strange and unnatural ways. Your reach increases by 5 feet. 
  Your elongated arms also gives you advantage on Strength 
  (Athletics) checks you make to climb. 
  Tentacles 
  At 6th level, you can expend 2 sorcery points as a bonus 
  action to grow long, whipping tendrils that sprout 
  grotesquely from your form and last until the beginning of 
  your next turn. When a creature comes within 5 feet of you 
  or begins its turn there, it takes 3d6 bludgeoning damage. 
  You can extend this duration for another round by spending 
  2 sorcery points at the beginning of your turn. 
  Warped Mind 
  At 14th level, your tainted form has altered the nature of 
  your brain, making you resistant to psychic attacks, and 
  more capable of inflicting them upon others. You gain 
  resistance to psychic damage and have advantage on saving 
  throws against being charmed.  
       Additionally, you can emit a mind blast in a 60-foot 
  cone. As an action expend up to 6 sorcery points. Each 
  creature in the cone must succeed on an Intelligence saving 
  throw or take 1d8 psychic damage for each sorcery point 
  expended plus your Intelligence modifier. 
  Monstrous Transformation 
  At 18th level, as a bonus action expending 3 sorcery points, 
  you can unleash your monstrous heritage from within your 
  body and transform into a terrible creature. Until you use 
  your bonus action to end this effect, you have resistance to 
  bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage, but can't cast 
  spells of 1st level or higher. Each round you begin in this 
  form, you expend 3 additional sorcery points. 
       In addition, creatures who look upon this form become 
  frozen in horror. Each creature that can see you within 30 
  feet, except for allies which know to avert their gaze, must 
  make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the 
  creature is paralyzed while you are transformed. At the end 
  of each of its turns, affected creatures can repeat this saving 
  throw. A creature that succeeds this save is immune to this 
  effect for 24 hours. 
       Once you use this ability, you must finish a long rest 
  before using it again. 
   
   
   
  
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  Otherworldly 
  Patron 
  The beings that serve as patrons for warlocks are mighty 
  inhabitants of other planes of existence—not gods, but 
  almost godlike in their power. Various patrons give their 
  warlocks access to different powers and invocations, and 
  expect significant favors in return. Some patrons collect 
  warlocks, doling out mystic knowledge relatively freely or 
  boasting of their ability to bind mortals to their will. Other 
  patrons bestow their power only grudgingly, and might 
  make a pact with only one warlock. Warlocks who serve 
  the same patron might view each other as allies, siblings, or 
  rivals. 
  The Dead Mists 
  The Dead Mists of R'lyeh have for eons been a deadly trap 
  for astral travelers. Foolhardy wizards and mystics would 
  push themselves further and further into the astral sea, and 
  would eventually find themselves wrapped in the eldritch 
  mists. Lost and without guide, they would inevitably 
  succumb to the mist's soul-draining effects and would 
  become little more than food for the astral beings who slept 
  in the mists. 
       But the Dead Mists sometimes have plans of their own. 
  Inscrutably, the Mists sometimes claim a mortal host, 
  inhabiting them, empowering them, and guiding them 
  safely home. The Mists’ motivation is inscrutable and its 
  methods strange, but those empowered by it are made one 
  with the Mists, able to command it, or at least coerce it, 
  through the power of their own soul.  
  Expanded Spell List 
  The Dead Mists let you choose from an expanded list of 
  spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells 
  are added to the warlock spell list for you. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Dead Mists Expanded Spells 
  Spell Level 
  Spells 
  1st 
  fog cloud, heedless lash 
  2nd 
  detect thoughts, mistbound 
  3rd 
  clairvoyance, scouring mists 
  4th 
  black tentacles, confusion 
  5th 
  oblivion, scrying 
  Eldritch Investigation 
  Starting at 1st level, you learn to open your mind to the 
  Dead Mists of R'lyeh, granting you eldritch insights and 
  power. As a bonus action, you can deal yourself necrotic 
  damage equal to 1d8 times the level of your Pact Magic 
  slots. At the start of your next turn, you regain an expended 
  Pact Magic slot. 
       Damage from this ability ignores both damage 
  resistance and damage immunity, and does not subtract 
  from your temporary hit points, if you have any. If this 
  ability reduces you to 0 hit points, you are knocked 
  unconscious, even if you have temporary hit points. You 
  must be able to perform the somatic components of a spell 
  in order to use this ability. 
  Mist-Fueled Recovery 
  Starting at 6th level, your body begins to merge with the 
  Dead Mists, allowing you to heal your mortal form by 
  burning eldritch energy. As an action on your turn, you can 
  consume one of your available Pact Magic spell slots, 
  regaining hit points equal to 1d8 per spell level of the slot 
  consumed. 
  Mist Form 
  At 10th level, you learn to fully immerse yourself in the 
  Dead Mists, transforming you in to a hazy, misty reflection 
  of your true self. As an action, you can cast the spell 
  gaseous form on yourself without using a spell slot. 
  Master of the Mists 
  At 14th level, you learn to infuse the Mists of R'lyeh into 
  your spells, leeching vitality from your foes. Once per turn, 
  when you deal necrotic damage to a hostile creature with a 
  warlock spell, you regain hit points equal to 1d8 + your 
  Charisma modifier. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
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  Arcane Tradition 
  The study of wizardry is ancient, stretching back to the 
  earliest mortal discoveries of magic. It is firmly established 
  in the worlds of D&D, with various traditions dedicated to 
  its complex study. The most common arcane traditions in 
  the multiverse revolve around the schools of magic. 
  Wizards through the ages have cataloged thousands of 
  spells, grouping them into categories called schools. In 
  some places, these traditions are literally schools; a wizard 
  might study at the School of Illusion while another studies 
  across town at the School of Enchantment. In other 
  institutions, the schools are more like academic 
  departments, with rival faculties competing for students and 
  funding. Even wizards who train apprentices in the solitude 
  of their own towers use the division of magic into schools 
  as a learning device, since the spells of each school require 
  mastery of different techniques. 
  School of the 
  Pseudonatural 
  In the Far Realm, outside time, Herculean minds drift, 
  absorbed in contemplations of madness. Unspeakable 
  beings whisper terrifying secrets to those who dare 
  communication. These secrets were not meant for mortals, 
  but the alienist plunges into abysses of chaos and entropy 
  that would blast a weaker mind. You toy with these cosmic 
  secrets to achieve true power: triumph of the mind over the 
  rude boundaries of dimension, distance, and ultimately, 
  sanity. 
  Mad Certainty 
  Beginning when you select this tradition at 2nd level, you 
  have a madness die, which is a d6. You can expend this 
  madness die and add its result to an ability check, attack 
  roll, or saving throw. Alternatively, you can expend 
  madness dice to use an Elder Rune, if you know one. You 
  regain all of your expended madness dice when you finish a 
  long rest. 
       If you begin your turn with no madness dice in your 
  pool, you gain a Long-Term Madness effect (Appendix A), 
  which ends when you take a short or long rest. You then 
  regain one expended madness die. 
  Pseudonatural Familiar 
  At 2nd level, you add the find familiar spell to your 
  spellbook, if it was not there already. When you cast the 
  spell, you can choose one of the normal forms for your 
  familiar or one of the following special forms: imp, 
  pseudodragon, quasit, or sprite. The familiar summoned 
  with this spell is of horribly twisted aspect, and gradually 
  loses all semblance to a creature of this earth. It is an 
  aberration, instead of its normal type. At 6th level, your 
  familiar's size becomes Small. 
      Additionally, when you take the Attack action, you can 
  forgo one of your own attacks to allow your familiar to 
  make one attack of its own. When your familiar makes an 
  attack, it uses your spell attack bonus instead of its own 
  attack bonus on attack rolls, and you can add your 
  proficiency bonus to its damage rolls. 
       Your familiar's maximum hit points are increased by 
  your level. 
       Finally, your familiar gains two pseudonatural traits of 
  your choice. At 6th, 10th, and 14th levels you can select an 
  additional trait. When you gain a level in this class, you can 
  replace a trait that your familiar has with a trait for which 
  you meet the prerequisites. 
  Timeless Body 
  By 6th level, you have discovered many secrets in your 
  research. Among them, the secret of eternal youth. You no 
  longer age, do not suffer the effects of old age, and cannot 
  be magically aged. You still die at the time of old age, 
  however. When the time comes, you are stolen away by 
  horrible entities, never to be seen again. 
  Alien Blessing 
  At 10th level, you become proficient in two saving throws 
  of your choice, and you lose proficiency in Wisdom saving 
  throws. 
  Summon Alien 
  Beginning at 14th level, your familiar no longer seems 
  remotely related to earthly creatures. Your familiar's size is 
  Medium, it regains 1 hit point each minute, and it is 
  immune to extra damage from critical hits. 
  Pseudonatural Traits 
  If a pseudonatural trait has prerequisites, you must meet 
  them to choose it. You can choose the trait at the same time 
  that you meet its prerequisites. If one of your traits calls for 
  a saving throw, it uses your wizard Spell Save DC. 
  Pincers 
  Action 
  Melee Weapon Attack: reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (5) 1d8 
  slashing damage. The target is grappled (escape DC is 
  equal to your spell save DC) if it is a Medium or smaller 
  creature and the familiar doesn't have another creature 
  grappled. 
  
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  Stinger 
  Action 
  Melee Weapon Attack: reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (5) 1d8 
  piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a 
  Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 hour. 
  If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the target falls 
  unconscious for the same duration, or until it takes damage 
  or another creature uses an action to shake it awake. 
  Tentacles 
  Action 
  Melee Weapon Attack: reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (4) 1d6 
  bludgeoning damage and (4) 1d4 piercing damage. 
  Keen Hearing and Smell 
  You familiar has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) 
  checks that rely on hearing or smell. 
  Mimicry 
  Your familiar can mimic animal sounds and humanoid 
  voices. A creature that hears the sounds can tell they are 
  imitations with a successful DC 14 Wisdom (Insight) 
  check. 
  Nimble Escape 
  Your familiar can take the Disengage or Hide action as a 
  bonus action on each of its turns. 
  Unearthly Sight 
  You familiar can see normally in in fog, darkness, and 
  magical darkness. 
  Durable Hide 
  Prerequisite: 6th level 
  Your familiar gains a +2 bonus to Armor Class. 
  Scare (1/Day) 
  Prerequisite: 6th level 
  One creature of your choice within 20 feet of your familiar 
  must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened 
  for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the 
  end of each of its turns, with disadvantage if your familiar 
  is within line of sight, ending the effect on itself on a 
  success. 
  Spider Climb 
  Prerequisite: 6th level 
  Your familiar can climb difficult surfaces, including upside 
  down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability 
  check. 
  Stench (1/day) 
  Prerequisite: 6th level 
  For 1 minute, any creature that starts its turn within 5 feet 
  of your familiar must succeed on a Constitution saving 
  throw or be poisoned until the start of its next turn. On a 
  successful saving throw, the creature is immune to the 
  familiar's Stench for 24 hours. 
  Death Burst 
  Prerequisite: 10th level 
  When your familiar dies, it explodes in a burst of fire. Each 
  creature within 5 feet of it must make a Dexterity saving 
  throw, taking 2d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as 
  much damage on a successful one. 
  Echolocation 
  Prerequisite: 10th level 
  Your familiar gains blindsight with a range of 60 feet, but 
  can't use it while deafened. 
  Multiattack 
  Prerequisite: 10th level 
  Your familiar makes two attacks when it takes the Attack 
  action. Each attack must use a different attack option. 
  Tough 
  Prerequisite: 10th level 
  You familiar's maximum hit points is increased by twice 
  your wizard level. 
  Brute 
  Prerequisite: 14th level 
  An attack deals one extra die of its damage when your 
  familiar hits with it (included in the attack). 
  Incorporeal Movement 
  Prerequisite: 14th level 
  Your familiar can move through other creatures and objects 
  as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 1d10 force damage 
  and is shunted to the nearest available space if it ends its 
  turn inside an object. 
  Magic Resistance 
  Prerequisite: 14th level 
  Your familiar has advantage on saving throws against 
  spells and other magical effects and gains resistance to 
  damage from spells. 
   
   
  
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  Chapter 3: Backgrounds 
  Every story has a beginning. Your character’s background 
  reveals where you came from, how you became an  
  adventurer, and your place in the world. Your fighter 
  might have been a courageous knight or a grizzled 
  soldier. Your wizard could have been a sage or an 
  artisan. Your rogue might have gotten by as a guild 
  thief or commanded audiences as a jester.  
       Choosing a background provides you with important 
  story cues about your character’s identity. The most 
  important question to ask about your background is what 
  changed? Why did you stop doing whatever your 
  background describes and start adventuring? Where did 
  you get the money to purchase your starting gear, or, if you 
  come from a wealthy background, why don’t you have 
  more money? How did you learn the skills of your class? 
  What sets you apart from ordinary people who share your 
  background? 
  Cultist 
  Aligning oneself against the Old Ones is suicide. They 
  cannot be slain; they are greater than death. They cannot be 
  stopped; they are older than time. Ultimately, the only 
  sensible conclusion is to serve them. In doing so, perhaps 
  you can stave off their ire, or even, perhaps, understand 
  some modicum of their great wisdom.  
       You were inducted into a cult of the Great Old Ones and 
  have learned their ways in secret. Covertly, by discovering 
  ancient insights and performing dark rituals, your 
  organization works in the shadows to hasten the day the 
  Old Ones return. You have seen the face of madness in this 
  organization, and have glimpsed the unspeakable.  
       Perhaps you have reformed completely and resent the 
  other cultists of the Great Old Ones, seeking to undermine 
  their efforts, or perhaps you are still a member of the cult, 
  and pay tribute in secret, furtively working to advance the 
  organization's goals. Regardless, you have intimate 
  knowledge of the occult, and terrifying insight into realms 
  beyond our own. 
  Skill Proficiencies: Arcana, Religion 
  Languages: Two of your choice 
  Equipment: A symbol of the Great Old Ones (derived 
  from the Elder Sign), incense, a piece of chalk, a set of 
  common clothes, and a belt pouch containing 10 gp. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Feature: 
  Madman’s 
  Knowledge 
  You have been touched,  
  however slightly, by the wisdom of the Great Old Ones. 
  Your education in eldritch knowledge might erode your 
  sanity, but you are well-informed of other cults and faiths. 
  You know covert signs used by other cultists to identify 
  themselves and communicate, and you know the names and 
  titles of the Great Old Ones. You are also familiar with the 
  rituals and practices of these cults. 
  
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  Great Old One 
  Cultists can worship a number of strange entities from the 
  cosmos, but the cautious tend to focus their worship on one 
  or two, as offending a Great Old One carries terrible risk. 
       Select one from or roll on the following table to 
  determine the Great Old One you once worshipped or 
  continue to worship. 
  d8 
  Great Old One 
  1 
  Cthulhu 
  2 
  Demon-Sultan Azathoth 
  3 
  Hastur 
  4 
  Nyarlathotep 
  5 
  Shub-Niggurath 
  6 
  Sithrak 
  7 
  The Yellow King 
  8 
  Yog-Sothoth 
  Suggested Characteristics 
  Cults of the Great Old Ones, like cults of other faiths, 
  practice in secret to avoid detection by the leading faiths of 
  the region and to avoid prosecution of heresy. Cultists 
  blend into the crowd as best they can, meeting their 
  conspirators exclusively in secluded locales or under cover 
  of night. 
       Still, the waning effects of the Great Old Ones often 
  leaves them with strange quirks or odd behavior. The 
  jittery, unsettling shopkeep in town might very well be a 
  member of the cult. Anyone could be, for that matter. 
  d8 
  Personality Trait 
  1 
  I drift off in trance-like daydreams. 
  2 
  I obsess over esoteric knowledge others deem 
  vague or apocryphal. 
  3 
  In times of quiet, I repeat an inhuman chant 
  under my breath over and over again. 
  4 
  I keep a dream diary, in which I record half-asleep 
  ramblings which I attempt to divine while awake. 
  5 
  I profess that the day the Old Ones Return is 
  soon, no more than a few weeks away. When the 
  date arrives to no avail, I shift the date a few 
  weeks later. 
  6 
  I see omens in every event and action. The gods 
  try to speak to us, we just need to listen. 
  7 
  I am comfortable in vast libraries or furtively 
  reading in a basement, but crowds intimidate 
  me. 
  8 
  I keep a pet rat in my pocket and imagine it's 
  little squeaks are intelligible, and horrifying 
  secrets 
   
   
   
  d6 
  Ideal 
  1 
  Atonement. I have abandoned the cult of the Old 
  Ones and wish to make things right by stopping 
  them. (Good) 
  2 
  Truth. I search for eldritch wisdom that might 
  reveal the nature of the multiverse to me. 
  (Lawful) 
  3 
  Chaos. The boundless, alien Far Realm is the 
  state that all universes should be in. Our 
  universe is merely an anomaly. (Chaotic) 
  4 
  Power. The Old One I worship will make me 
  powerful when he returns, crushing my enemies 
  before me. (Evil) 
  5 
  Dreams. The only true way to understand the 
  will of the Great Old Ones is through dreams. 
  (Neutral) 
  6 
  Secrecy. The fools of the world do not 
  understand the Old Ones, and their nature must 
  be kept secret until their Return. (Any) 
   
  d6 
  Bond 
  1 
  I search for the site of the Vast Gate, where the 
  Great Ones are predicted to Return. 
  2 
  I owe my life to the cult who raised me. Though I 
  never knew my parents, I inherited a wealth of 
  wisdom. 
  3 
  I will destroy every last member of the cult that 
  brainwashed me. 
  4 
  The final component of a powerful ritual is 
  locked away within my skull. I fear unlocking it 
  will drive me mad. 
  5 
  Members of the cult covertly help each other 
  gain power and authority. We shall rule this 
  nation. 
  6 
  I wish to open a portal to the Far Realm and see 
  it for my very eyes. 
   
  d6 
  Flaw 
  1 
  I am intensely paranoid of every bump in the 
  night and of every person's motivations. 
  2 
  I latch on to incredibly mad schemes of which I 
  rarely think all the way through. 
  3 
  I may be losing my grip on reality. 
  4 
  Sometimes I am overjoyed with the world and 
  sometimes I face crippling depression. 
  5 
  For days on end I can forget important things, 
  like eating, because I am deep in research and 
  contemplation. 
  6 
  No one is more dedicated to their mad religious 
  traditions than I am. 
   
   
  
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  Detective 
  The investigators that discover the Elder Evils and their 
  numerous cults follow the clues from places and people, 
  wherever the occult hides. Through these adventures, you 
  hope to gain the clues and resources needed to confront and 
  ultimately thwart the eldritch threat. 
       You might be investigating the Elder Evils alone, or you 
  may find assistance or direction from a church or similar 
  organization. Regardless, only a few people would believe 
  you if you told them what you're after, so it's often wise to 
  conceal your goals. 
  Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Perception 
  Tool Proficiencies: Disguise kit, one gaming set of your 
  choice. 
  Equipment: A set of common clothes, a disguise kit, a 
  notebook of investigation notes, a letter from an old 
  friend, and a belt pouch containing 15 gp. 
  Feature: Hunch 
  When confronted with a mystery, you may get a hunch that 
  will lead you to more clues. Your intuition is keen even 
  when details of a case are missing or unclear and shortens 
  the logical leaps required to unravel the mysteries of a case. 
  Suggested Characteristics 
  In general, detectives are evidence-minded and 
  exceptionally observant individuals. Their forays into seedy 
  locales often foster unsavory habits, but these never 
  conflict with their underlying sense of idealism. If it did, 
  they would sooner give up when they face resistance or the 
  investigation at hand turns cold. 
  d8 
  Personality Trait 
  1 
  When I get a hunch, I follow it without hesitation. 
  2 
  I am quiet but observant, drinking in the hidden 
  motivations of any scene. 
  3 
  I love reading old legends and lore. 
  4 
  In spite of my persistent cough, I'm never to be 
  found without my pipe. 
  5 
  My language is as foul as an otyugh nest. 
  6 
  Every day, I have terrible nightmares of my 
  investigations. 
  7 
  I'm far more comfortable in a noisy tavern than I 
  am at home. 
  8 
  My notebook is filled with conflicting 
  observations and accounts of the Elder Evil cults. 
  I zealously take notes whenever I learn 
  something new. 
   
   
   
   
   
  d6 
  Ideal 
  1 
  Greater Good. The Elder Evils pose a threat 
  against the whole of the multiverse. (Good) 
  2 
  Logic. Impulsive emotions should not cloud our 
  thinking. (Lawful) 
  3 
  Truth. Any secret can be revealed, and any 
  problem can be learned. (Neutral) 
  4 
  Independence. Every person should be able to 
  stand alone, if need be. (Chaotic) 
  5 
  Supremacy. Knowledge is power, and my 
  expertise happens to be in acquiring it. (Evil) 
  6 
  Justice. Every investigation should serve to sort 
  out the guilty from the innocent. (Lawful) 
   
  d6 
  Bond 
  1 
  I know someone badly affected by an Elder Evil 
  cult. I owe it to them to find out the truth. 
  2 
  Perhaps I can steal away some of the great 
  power of the Elder Evils for myself. 
  3 
  I am determined to discover the origin of a small 
  yet ancient statue of an Elder Evil. 
  4 
  I seek the final component of a power ritual, 
  rumored to be locked away within someone's 
  skull. 
  5 
  I bear a mortal grudge against a warlock of the 
  Great Old Ones. 
  6 
  A scar appeared on my body overnight in the 
  shape of an ancient rune. I seek to unravel this 
  mystery. 
   
  d6 
  Flaw 
  1 
  I am suspicious of strangers and expect the 
  worst of them. 
  2 
  I'll take any investigation for any client, so long 
  as it pays well. 
  3 
  Things never seem to go my way. I fear I may 
  actually be cursed. 
  4 
  I am easily distracted by the promise of 
  information. 
  5 
  I speak without really thinking through my 
  words, invariably insulting others. 
  6 
  Drinking for me is a weakness I can't quite 
  overcome. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
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  Planeswalker 
  Due to powerful magic, extraplanar portals, or divine 
  intervention, you were shunted from your home plane, and 
  forced to wander the multiverse in search of a way back. 
  You have seen the shores of a thousand oceans, met 
  creatures too fantastical to describe, and glimpsed the gates 
  of the Hells (from afar.) Though your legs have become 
  heavy from travel, your eyes always constantly search for 
  new horizons. 
       Perhaps you eventually found your way home with a 
  wealth of experience gained, or perhaps you still wander 
  the planes in search of it. Perhaps, even, you travel the 
  multiverse of your own accord for its sights, its dangers, 
  and its treasure. After all, not all who wander are lost. 
  Skill Proficiencies: Arcana, Survival. 
  Languages: Two of your choice 
  Equipment: A staff, a hunting trap, a hand-drawn map of a 
  plane you have visited, a set of traveler’s clothes, and a 
  belt pouch containing 10 gp. 
  Feature: Portal Key 
  You know the location of at least one portal or planar gate 
  that leads to another plane. This portal could be just about 
  anything, from an archway to a manhole. To others, there's 
  nothing out of the ordinary about this spot, as the portal 
  only opens, allowing travelers to pass through if they 
  possess a portal key. The key, too, could consist of any 
  object, passphrase, or ritual of which a bystander would be 
  unaware. 
       This portal might be guarded, or in a dangerous location, 
  and you might not possess the key, if it's a unique physical 
  object. Work with your GM to decide under what 
  circumstances your character can leave the Material Plane. 
  Suggested Characteristics 
  Planeswalkers know a lot about the multiverse and this 
  knowledge makes them cautious. They know there are 
  doors that shouldn't be opened and beasts that shouldn't be 
  disturbed. No planeswalker survives long without 
  practicing restraint. In spite of this, they tend to be 
  extremely ambitious, for the planes are full of possibilities 
  and wonders as they are with dangers. 
  d8 
  Personality Trait 
  1 
  I've made friends (or business contacts) on every 
  plane I've visited. 
  2 
  My expression is always a world-weary poker 
  face. 
   
  3 
  I get antsy if I stay in one place for more than a 
  week. 
  4 
  My weapon of choice is an impractical one that I 
  learned from an ancient people on a far-off plane. 
  5 
  When I find myself in a new place, I create a map 
  of the area. I carry with me dozens of such maps. 
  6 
  I'm fluent in few languages of the Material Plane, 
  but know fragments of many extraplanar 
  languages. 
  7 
  I am terrible at conversation and I’m likely to just 
  stare down my traveling companions for an 
  entire journey. 
  8 
  Nothing gets my mind off the road like sharing a 
  few stories over a campfire. 
   
  d6 
  Ideal 
  1 
  Respect. While traveling far afield, I’ve come to 
  know that everyone, regardless of position, have 
  worth. (Good) 
  2 
  Honor. Every man must have a code. (Lawful) 
  3 
  Survival. On hostile planes, the only priority is 
  self-preservation. (Chaotic) 
  4 
  Greed. I take what I can and give nothing back. 
  (Evil) 
  5 
  Live and Let Live. Meddling in the affairs of 
  others only causes trouble. (Neutral) 
  6 
  Wanderlust. The multiverse contains countless 
  wonders, and I want to see all of them. (Any) 
   
  d6 
  Bond 
  1 
  I must find the key to a secret portal of the gods. 
  2 
  I have traveled the planes for years to find my 
  home. 
  3 
  I will find a way to the fabled Plane of Time and 
  unmake great mistakes of the past. 
  4 
  The Planar Index will be mine. 
  5 
  I am protective of my less experienced fellow 
  travelers. 
  6 
  Throughout the planes, I am hunted by a 
  powerful evil entity. 
   
  d6 
  Flaw 
  1 
  I'm addicted to an exotic drug found only on the 
  Plane of Fire. 
  2 
  I have made enemies of angels and devils alike. 
  3 
  I once looked into a portal to the Far Realm, 
  which left me slightly out of touch with reality. 
  4 
  My crippling insomnia often strikes when I'm 
  confined to a particular city for too long. 
  5 
  I have few scruples when it comes to theft. 
  6 
  I compulsively aggravate diplomatic situations 
  by speaking irreverently and out of turn 
   
  
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  Chapter 4: 
  Items 
  Trinkets 
  When you make your character, you can roll once on the 
  Trinkets table to gain a trinket, a simple item lightly 
  touched by mystery. The GM might also use this table to 
  help stock a room in a dungeon or fill a creature’s pockets.  
  d100 
  Trinket 
  1-2 
  A leather-bound journal of observations from 
  a half-mad alienist 
  3-4 
  A vial containing a thick green slime 
  5-6 
  A holy text defamed with occult script 
  7-8 
  A torch you can see when lit, but does not 
  cast light on objects 
  9-10 
  A cage containing a rat with multiple 
  insectoid legs 
  11-12 
  A small painting of a strange, alien vista 
  13-14 
  A flute made of cold iron. No matter how well 
  played, it always produces a horrible wail 
  15-16 
  A stone carved with half of an Elder Rune. Its 
  shape twists and distorts in your vision 
  17-18 
  A pendant shaped like a human eye that 
  always seems to follow your movements. 
  19-20 
  A pewter cat figurine which everyone forgets 
  about shortly after seeing it 
  21-22 
  A map to a place both far away and very, very, 
  near 
  23-24 
  A skull not altogether human, but not 
  altogether alien either 
  25-26 
  A cerulean stone from the Vast Gate 
  27-28 
  A glove made for a hand with six elongated 
  fingers 
  29-30 
  A reflective disc with a hole in the center 
  polished to a mirror-like reflection 
  31-32 
  A scroll containing 42 prophecies of disasters 
  that will precede the end of the world 
  33-34 
  A dulled bloodletting knife 
  35-36 
  A semispherical stone chiseled with 
  hundreds of precise pips to represent the 
  stars in the sky 
  37-38 
  A shard of voidglass, which reflects the 
  infinite nothingness between the planes 
  39-40 
  A ceramic skull with three eyes 
  41-42 
  A long coat of the type favored by 
  investigators and rangers 
   
   
  d100 
  Trinket 
  43-44 
  Inelegant medical instruments used for the 
  attachment of monstrous grafts 
  45-46 
  A rusted bone saw 
  47-48 
  A glass jar of formaldehyde containing a 
  tumor-ridden brain 
  49-50 
  A letter from a powerful noble house with an 
  unbroken wax seal   
  51-52 
  A clay death mask with a horrified expression 
  53-54 
  A chalice stained with blood 
  55-56 
  A glass vial containing a sedative to calm the 
  nerves and numb the brain 
  57-58 
  A scroll containing a cryptic register of names 
  and places. Some are furiously crossed out 
  59-60 
  A large pair of manacles designed to shackle 
  large, inhuman creatures 
  61-62 
  A blank diary bound in human flesh 
  63-64 
  A purple candle, never lit 
  65-66 
  A piece of bone, scrimshawed with the 
  following code: 072 111 119 097 114 100 032 
  080 104 105 108 108 105 112. 
  67-68 
  A pendant on chain used for self-flagellation. 
  "Mercy, O Elder Evils" is etched into its face 
  69-70 
  A hooded cloak, favored by those who keep 
  secrets 
  71-72 
  A compass that always points to the nearest 
  interplanar breach 
  73-74 
  A pair of sophisticated spectacles with 
  various magnifying lenses 
  75-76 
  An old, and possibly incomplete, map to Lost 
  Carcosa 
  77-78 
  A fragment of woven tapestry depicting some 
  great event with abundant symbolism 
  79-80 
  A necklace of two teeth from an unusual 
  carnivore 
  81-82 
  A detective's magnifying glass 
  83-84 
  An unadorned silver ring, stained with blood 
  85-86 
  A shrunken human head 
  87-88 
  The holy symbol of a long-dead god 
  89-90 
  A music sheet written in an 
  incomprehensible notation 
  91-92 
  A black coin from an unremembered 
  civilization 
  93-94 
  An elaborate net, intended to catch unwanted 
  dreams 
  95-96 
  A carved crystal of strange, fractal geometry 
  which causes headaches when gazed upon 
  97-98 
  A small statuette depicting the Vast Gate 
  99-00 
  A leaded box containing a warm, glowing 
  stone 
  
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  Magic Items 
  Magic items are presented in alphabetical order. A magic 
  item’s description gives the item’s name, its category, its 
  rarity, and its magical properties. 
  Amulet of Inviolate Form 
  Wondrous item, rare 
  This platinum amulet has seven charges and is set with 
  seven red garnets which protect you from effects that 
  would significantly change your bodily form or 
  composition. As a bonus action while you are under the 
  effect of a transmutation spell or an effect which 
  supernaturally alters your form (such as the curse of 
  lycanthropy) you can expend one charge and end that effect 
  on you. Each time a charge is expended, one garnet turns a 
  dull black color. 
  Astral Mirror 
  Wondrous item, uncommon (requires attunement) 
  This mirror reflects incomprehensible realities alongside 
  our own. As a bonus action, you can gaze into the mirror 
  and gain blindsight with a range of 10 feet for the next 
  minute. During that time, you are blind outside this range. 
  This property of the mirror can't be used again for one 
  hour. 
       Gates to other Planes of Existence reflect in the mirror, 
  even right through other objects. While attuned to the 
  mirror, you know the direction of, but not the distance to, 
  planar breaches within 20 miles. 
  Carcosan Page 
  Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement by a spellcaster) 
  This page contains a passage from the forbidden play, The 
  King in Yellow. Reading from it causes you to be attuned 
  to it instantly. Once attuned, you gain a +2 bonus on your 
  spell attack rolls for 24 hours.  
       Cursed. When you read from this page, even just to 
  identify it, you make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a 
  failure, you are possessed by malign entity known as the 
  King in Yellow, about whom the play is loosely concerned. 
  For the next 24 hours, you are an NPC under the GM's 
  control, seeking to further the king's goals, which often 
  include causing more creatures to read from Carcosan 
  pages or uncovering the whereabouts of an artifact known 
  as the Pallid Mask. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Crown of Eyes 
  Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement) 
  Large gemstones cut to resemble gleaming eyes encircle 
  this elaborate golden crown. The crown has 10 charges and 
  regains 1d10 charges each day at midnight. You can use an 
  action and expend 1 or more charges to cast one of the 
  following spells (save DC 17) from it: charm person (1 
  charge), disintegrate (3 charges), fear (2 charges), flesh to 
  stone (3 charges), harm (3 charges), hold monster (3 
  charges), inflict wounds (1 charge), sleep (1 charge), slow 
  (2 charges), telekinesis (2 charges). 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Amulet of 
  Inviolate Form 
  Carcosan Page 
  Astral  
  Mirror 
  
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  Crystal of Elder Things 
  Wondrous item, very rare 
  While holding this crystal, you can use an action to call 
  invisible monstrosities to your aid, as if you had cast the 
  conjure pseudoelementals spell. This crystal can’t be used 
  this way again until the next dawn. 
  Idol of the Great Old Ones 
  Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement) 
  This hideous statuette attempts to depict the alien form of a 
  Great Old One. While touching it, you are immune to being 
  charmed and to any effect that would sense your emotions 
  or read your thoughts. You also have advantage on 
  Alienation checks and saving throws 
       Cursed. This idol is cursed and attuning to it curses you 
  as well, a fact which is revealed when you take a long rest 
  and experience terrifying nightmares. While attuned to it, 
  you are unwilling to part with the idol, always keeping it 
  within your reach and whispering to it when you are alone. 
  As long as you are cursed, your Alienation score can be no 
  lower than 12, and you can't lose points of Alienation by 
  taking a long rest. Additionally, while cursed, you have 
  disadvantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma 
  saving throws. 
  Puzzle Box 
  Wondrous item, rare 
  Though a magic item in and of itself, this cubic box often 
  contains far more powerful and destructive items. The 
  puzzle box can hold a cubic foot of contents, which are 
  sealed within. These contents are then impossible to access 
  without solving the box. They are immune to divination 
  magic, and the box is immune to any effect that would not 
  destroy an artifact. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
       You can attempt to solve the box by spending 1 day 
  concentrating on it, after which you make a DC 23 
  Intelligence check. The box only opens if you solve it, after 
  which you can re-seal it with new contents, if you desire. 
  Reanimation Serum 
  Potion, rare 
  This vial of glowing green liquid with its attached 
  hypodermic needle can resurrect the recently dead, at least, 
  experimentally. As an action, you can inject a corpse with 
  the serum, expending it. The serum can’t return to life a 
  creature that has died of old age, nor can it restore any 
  missing body parts. Depending on how long ago the 
  creature died, the serum's effects might vary, as follows: 
  • If the target creature died within the last round, it 
  returns to life with 10 hit points. 
  • If the target creature died within the last minute, roll a 
  d20. If you roll a 1, the creature is animated as a 
  zombie. On any other roll, it returns to life with 1 hit 
  point. 
  • If the creature died within the last 10 minutes, roll a 
  d20. If you roll less than 11, the creature is animated as 
  a zombie. On any other roll, it returns to life with 1 hit 
  point and gains one Indefinite Madness effect 
  (Appendix A). 
  • If the creature died more than 10 minutes ago, it is 
  animated as a zombie. 
  Rune Tablet 
  Wondrous item, common (save DC 13), uncommon (save 
  DC 15), rare (save DC 17) 
  An Elder Rune is imprinted on this ancient clay or stone 
  tablet. You can use your action to read the tablet and 
  invoke the power of the ancient symbol, which fades from 
  the tablet after use. The saving throw DC is determined by 
  the tablet’s rarity. You can choose the type of Elder Rune 
  randomly by rolling on the following table. All Elder Runes 
  are described on page 14. 
  Rune 
  Tablet 
  Puzzle Box 
  Crystal of 
  Elder Things 
  
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  d10 
  Rune Tablet 
  1 
  Become Other 
  2 
  Confound the Senses 
  3 
  Convolute Space 
  4 
  Hold of Hastur 
  5 
  Invoke the Unspeakable Name 
  6 
  Logical Leap 
  7 
  Protect Threshold 
  8 
  Rumor Dust 
  9 
  Speak the Old Tongue 
  10 
  Visions of Beyond 
  Sand of Dreams 
  Wondrous item, uncommon 
  This unassuming pouch contains sand infused with 
  dreamstuff. If you sprinkle this sand over a creature 
  sleeping during a long rest, roll a d20. On a 2 or higher, the 
  creature has rapturous and invigorating dreams, and only 
  requires 4 hours of sleep to achieve the same effect as it 
  would normally sleeping for 8 hours. On a 1, the creature 
  instead has nightmares, and restlessly sleeps for 12 hours, 
  during which time it cannot be awoken. A creature with 
  nightmare regains no hit points for taking a long rest and 
  takes 1d10 psychic damage upon awaking. 
       A single pouch contains a dozen uses of this sand. 
  Shining Trapezohedron 
  Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement) 
  This gleaming gem is a horrible window into all of space 
  and time. While touching it, you can cast the scrying spell 
  (save DC 17) with it.  
       Additionally, you use your action to cast the gate spell 
  from it. You can't use this property again until the next 
  dawn. 
  Sword of the Mists 
  Weapon (longsword), rare (requires attunement) 
  You gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with 
  this magic weapon. While holding it, you can use your 
  action to cast the spell gaseous form. 
  Zann's Viol 
  Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement by a bard) 
  This instrument summons unearthly notes from voids 
  unseen. While you are attuned to this viol, you can play it 
  as a bonus action and spend a Bardic Inspiration die. Each 
  hostile creature within 30 feet that can hear you must make 
  a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, a creature 
  subtracts 1d8 from the next d20 roll it makes. 
  Artifacts 
  Secreted away in long-forgotten vaults or coveted by 
  jealous demigods are objects powerful enough to reshape 
  the course of history. These artifacts hail from the earliest 
  days of the multiverse, and possess power impossible for 
  replicate today. Each of them has their own history and 
  personality; each of them has existed for eons, and will 
  continue to exist for millennia to come.  
       Introducing an artifact into your campaign means 
  framing the story with it in mind. Entire quests can center 
  on recovering an artifact, destroying one, or stopping one 
  from falling into the wrong hands. They should be treated 
  with care and used sparingly, for artifacts often carry great 
  significance and risk with their every use. 
  Necronomicon 
  Wondrous item, artifact (requires attunement) 
  This terrible book, inked in blood and bound in human 
  flesh, contains forbidden secrets of the 
  universe―knowledge mortals are not meant to know. In 
  detail, it catalogues and unveils the mysteries of the Far 
  Realm, its unspeakable inhabitants, and the Great Old Ones 
  which lurk between the edges of the universe. This work is 
  an icon for occultists and planar scholars alike, and while 
  many have attempted to copy its profane pages, only the 
  original contains the complete text. 
       Most believe that the Necronomicon was penned by the 
  mad scholar Abdul Alhazred. His story is as frightening 
  and marvelous as the book itself. Originally a poet, 
  Alhazred visited the ruins of ancient cities throughout the 
  world, and claimed to have visited fabulous, legendary 
  locations, like the Vast Gate, the Endless Desert, and the 
  City of Pillars. In the latter, the mad scholar claims he first 
  encountered carvings detailing the annals of the Great Old 
  Ones, which he chronicled in his notes. He retired in his 
  last years to compile all he knew into the book of evil later 
  named the Necronomicon. 
       Those who have dealings with the book usually come to 
  a cruel end, and the mad scholar Alhazred was no 
  exception. Many cite that in his last moments, he was 
  seized by an invisible monster in broad daylight, wrenched 
  into the air, and devoured before a crowd of terrified 
  onlookers. 
       An unsettling aura and the creeping presence of 
  pseudonatural things accompanies the book at all times. 
  Inexplicably, it seems that the secrets in its pages are 
  enough to weaken the walls of the planes, even when the 
  book is not read. Those studying the book might even find 
  this beneficial, for the rituals and rites contained within this 
  
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  tome are made that much more powerful by the waning 
  fabric of the universe. 
       Once a creature has attuned to this book, it must spend 
  80 hours reading and studying it to fully grasp the secrets 
  contained within. Other creatures can read the book's open 
  pages, but suffer intense headaches and can only remember 
  brief excerpts. Once attuned, the reader gains the benefits 
  of the Necronomicon, and regards the book with an 
  obsessive interest, never allowing it to leave its reach or its 
  sight.  
       Random Properties. The Necronomicon has the 
  following random properties: 
  • 2 minor beneficial properties 
  • 1 major beneficial property 
  • 3 minor detrimental properties 
  • 2 major detrimental properties 
       Adjusted Ability Scores. Once you have studied the 
  Necronomicon long enough to grasp its secrets, your 
  Alienation score becomes 20. Additionally, two ability 
  scores of your choice increase by 2, to a maximum of 24, 
  and all other ability scores you have decrease by 2. The 
  book can't adjust your ability scores again.  
       Make Contact. The book contains all manner of rituals 
  and incantations which can be used to contact the Great Old 
  Ones directly. Doing so is a deeply perilous task, which 
  requires a one-minute ritual. When it is completed, roll a 
  d20. On an 11 or higher, you cast the wish spell or learn 
  any one thing that you choose. On a 10 or lower, you take 
  4d10 psychic damage and the ritual fails. On a 1, forces 
  unseen gruesomely destroy your body and soul. You can't 
  use this property again until the next dawn.  
       Call Horrors. Terrible creatures are attracted to the 
  book, and you can call them forth from dimensions unseen. 
  While you are attuned to the book, you can use an action to 
  cast the conjure pseudoelementals spell. You can't use this 
  property again until the next dawn.  
       Speak the Unspeakable. White you carry the 
  Necronomicon, you can use an action to repeat its secrets to 
  the unprepared, damaging their minds. When you do so, 
  each creature within 15 feet of you takes 3d10 psychic 
  damage, or half as much if the creature is an aberration or 
  has an Alienation score of 10 or higher.  
       Forbidden Lore. You can reference the Necronomicon 
  when you wish to make an ability check to recall forbidden 
  knowledge, such as specific details about the Far Realm or 
  the Great Old Ones. When you do so, you have advantage 
  of this check.  
       Destroying the Book. The Necronomicon can be 
  damaged, but not indefinitely, for it seems to be protected 
  by a malign sentience. If the book is substantially damaged, 
  such as if pages are removed from it or if it is set on fire, 
  the walls of reality collapse in on themselves and the book, 
  along with any creature or object with 100 feet of it, are 
  pulled into the Far Realm, never to be seen again. 
       Within 1d10 years, the book will quietly resurface in a 
  dusty library or in a private collection, ready to circle the 
  world again. 
  Pallid Mask 
  Wondrous item, artifact (requires attunement) 
  The forbidden play, the King in Yellow, describes in detail 
  the tattered robes and pallid mask of its maligned 
  namesake, and the final days of the lost city of Carcosa. 
  Only divorced pages of the manuscript yet remain, the 
  original copy sundered and scattered. It has been said that 
  no mortal mind can withstand the play in its entirety, for 
  reading even fragments of it cause lasting damage to the 
  psyche and calls forth the King in Yellow from where he 
  invisibly hides.  
       The coming of the King is presaged by a number of 
  omens, the first of which is the yellow sign. The sign is an 
  elder rune of great power, and portents terrible things to 
  come, for its use wears thin the walls of reality and signals 
  eldritch horrors like a light in the darkness. Thus 
  precipitates the far more sinister omens that follow. 
       The last omen is the King's own Pallid Mask, which 
  drifts silently through the world, bringing those who wear it 
  to ruin. Like the King himself, the mask is an enigma. 
  Legend states that it acts as a bridge to the King in Yellow, 
  who exists far across the gaps chasms of space and time. 
  But its story, like the King’s and like of the doomed city of 
  Carcosa, is a profound mystery, whose answers perhaps 
  only lie in the forsaken pages of the Necronomicon.  
       Random Properties. The Pallid Mask has the following 
  random properties: 
  • 2 minor beneficial properties 
  • 3 minor detrimental properties 
  • 2 major detrimental properties 
       Adjusted Ability Score. While you wear the mask, your 
  Charisma score increases by 4, to a maximum of 24. 
       Spells. The mask has 7 charges and regains 1d4 + 3 
  expended charges daily at dawn. While you wear the mask, 
  you can use an action and spend one or more charges to 
  cast one of the following spells (save DC 17) from it: 
  dominate monster (3 charges), frenzy (2 charges), geas (2 
  charges), hypnotic pattern (1 charge), seeming (2 charges), 
  or suggestion (1 charge). 
   
  
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       You can also use an action to cast the spell yellow sign 
  from the mask without using any charges.  
       King in Yellow. Once you've attuned to the mask, you 
  are unable to remove it, for your body and soul are now the 
  dominion of the King in Yellow. You can feel the eldritch 
  being's presence in your heart and hear his dark thoughts in 
  your ear. 
       For one hour each day, the king demands to take direct 
  control over your body, during which time you are an NPC 
  under the GM's control, dedicated to spreading havoc and 
  suffering, and obsessed with reading from Carcosan pages 
  to a captive audience. You can choose when to relinquish 
  your body to the king, but if you do not choose to do so in a 
  24-hour period, or if your accommodations are not to the 
  king's liking (for example, if you spend his hour tied to a 
  tree), he will take control for an hour whenever he next 
  chooses.  
       When the king takes control, roll a d20. On a 1, the king 
  decides he will never relinquish your body from his control, 
  and your character permanently becomes an NPC.  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
       Faceless. While you wear the mask, you can't be 
  charmed or frightened and you are immune to any effect 
  that would read your thoughts or sense your emotions. 
       King's Thrall. While you wear the mask, you can use 
  your action to touch an incapacitated humanoid. That 
  creature is then charmed by you until a remove curse spell 
  is cast on it, the charmed condition is removed from it, or 
  you use this property again. 
       Glance of Madness. While you wear the mask, you can 
  use an action to glance at once creature you can see which 
  can also see you, which must make a DC 17 Wisdom or 
  Alienation saving throw (your choice.) On a failed save, the 
  target gains a Short-Term Madness effect (Appendix A). 
  You can't use this property again until the next dawn.  
       Destroying the Mask. The mask is the physical 
  embodiment of the Yellow King in our reality and can't be 
  destroyed while the king exists. It is possible to return the 
  mask to the Far Realm through a portal, where it will 
  remain for 1d20 years before reappearing near a Carcosan 
  page on the Material Plane. 
  
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  Chapter 5: Monsters 
  Terrible, nameless things lie just beyond the corners of 
  your vision. Abominations which defy description originate 
  in the Far Realm, and creep into our world on strange and 
  unpredictable tides. Their motives are as utterly alien as 
  their appearances, and with them spreads a corruption 
  which turns familiar things foreign and friends into 
  monsters.  
       Most aberrations are suitable adversaries for a party 
  investigating the eldritch nightmares of the Far Realm, but 
  this chapter includes a few that are especially familiar to its 
  unique threats.  
  Horrors 
  The horrors were once ordinary humanoids, tragically 
  corrupted and misshapen by the Far Realm's influence. 
       Embodiment of Corruption. The horrors are aberrations 
  born of ordinary life, malformed and twisted due to the 
  influence of the alien Far Realm. Near portals, the strange 
  dimension of the Far Realm is diffused across space and 
  interacts unpredictably with matter. Living things that come 
  close to these portals or pass through them can be 
  irrevocably changed, forever tainted by the corruption of 
  the Far Realm. Each horror is unique, distinguished by its 
  own random mutations, though a few prominent types do 
  generally emerge from the mutation process. 
       Sundered Minds. Of the thousands of mutations that can 
  grip a horror, each and every one is afflicted with 
  unassailable madness. To them, reality as we know it is 
  static, and the signal is something distant, only leaking into 
  reality through the portals. Just as their bodies are torn 
  between the planes, so too are their minds. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
       Intrusion of living things to a region near a portal is 
  likely to enrage the horrors, as the ordered material of our 
  universe causes them great pain. In consequence, the 
  horrors unknowingly serve as guardians to the portals of 
  the Far Realm, awakening and attacking all who come near. 
   
  Brute 
  Medium aberration, chaotic evil 
  Armor Class 15 (natural armor) 
  Hit Points 68 (8d8 + 32) 
  Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft. 
  STR 
  16 (+3) 
  DEX 
  13 (+1) 
  CON 
  18 (+4) 
  INT 
  11 (+1) 
  WIS 
  14 (+2) 
  CHA 
  13 (+1) 
  Skills Athletics +7, Perception +7, Survival +7 
  Damage Resistances acid, fire, lightning 
  Damage Vulnerabilities psychic 
  Senses blindsight 30 ft., passive Perception 14 
  Languages understands Common but can’t speak 
  Challenge 2 (450 XP) 
  All Around Vision. The brute can’t be surprised and has 
  advantage on initiative rolls. 
  ACTIONS 
  Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  creature. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) slashing damage. 
   
   
  Stalker 
  Medium aberration, chaotic evil 
  Armor Class 14 (natural armor) 
  Hit Points 60 (8d8 + 24) 
  Speed 20 ft., climb 35 ft. 
  STR 
  18 (+4) 
  DEX 
  16 (+3) 
  CON 
  17 (+3) 
  INT 
  11 (+0) 
  WIS 
  13 (+1) 
  CHA 
  9 (-1) 
  Skills Athletics +7, Perception +5, Survival +7 
  Damage Resistances acid, fire, lightning 
  Damage Vulnerabilities psychic 
  Senses blindsight 30 ft., passive Perception 13 
  Languages understands Common but can’t speak 
  Challenge 3 (700 XP) 
  All Around Vision. The stalker can’t be surprised and has 
  advantage on initiative rolls. 
  ACTIONS 
  Multiattack. The stalker makes two attacks with its claws. 
  Additional Limbs. Once per turn, the stalker hits with its claw, 
  it can immediately make another attack.  
  Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  creature. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) slashing damage. 
   
  Monster Alienation 
  The monsters found in this chapter are born of the 
  Far Realm's alien madness. Witnessing one for the 
  first time might, at the GM's discretion, might cause 
  a character to gain a point of Alienation. 
  
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  Pseudoelementals 
  The esoteric elements of the Far Realm defy 
  comprehension. In that realm, the laws of reality become 
  attenuated and surreal concepts can be empowered and 
  given life. 
       Undefined Elements. Scholars have long understood 
  that the material plane is composed of four fundamental 
  building blocks, called elements. However, the laws of 
  reality are entirely different in the Far Realm, where time, 
  dimensionality, and the elements are meaningless.  
       Astonishingly, interlopers to this strange realm influence 
  the fabric of its reality with their perceptions, giving rise to 
  an ever-changing fabric of pseudoelements. These 
  pseudoelements are strands of pure thought and come in an 
  infinite number of varieties.  
       Nightmares Made Real. Pseudoelements are products of 
  consciousness and are attracted to conscious beings. Great 
  clusters of this strange matter congeal together and 
  spontaneously animate, especially when a living creature is 
  nearby. The writhing mass subsequently formed is alien in  
   
  all respects, representing a great mass of manic thought, 
  distorted into a mockery of life. 
  Despair Elemental 
  Depression and dementia are common among those who 
  have witnessed the terrifying aberrations that live beyond 
  space and time. This sorrow is a powerful force that gives 
  rise to shadowy, parasitic pseudoelementals. 
   
  Wretch 
  Medium aberration, chaotic evil 
  Armor Class 16 (natural armor) 
  Hit Points 111 (13d8 + 52) 
  Speed 25 ft., climb 30 ft., fly 35 ft. 
  STR 
  18 (+4) 
  DEX 
  16 (+3) 
  CON 
  18 (+4) 
  INT 
  11 (+0) 
  WIS 
  14 (+2) 
  CHA 
  7 (-2) 
  Skills Perception +8, Survival +9 
  Damage Resistances acid, fire, lightning 
  Damage Vulnerabilities psychic 
  Senses blindsight 30 ft., passive Perception 15 
  Languages understands Common but can’t speak 
  Challenge 6 (2,300 XP) 
  All Around Vision. The stalker can’t be surprised and has 
  advantage on initiative rolls. 
  Whipping Tendrils. When a creature comes within 5 feet of 
  the wretch or begins its turn there, it must make a DC 15 
  Dexterity saving throw or 3d6 bludgeoning damage. 
  ACTIONS 
  Multiattack. The wretch makes two attacks with its claws. 
  Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  creature. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) slashing damage. 
  Poison Breath (Recharge 5-6). The wretch exhales poisonous 
  gas in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a 
  DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 20 (2d20) poison 
  damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. 
   
   
  Despair Elemental 
  Large elemental, neutral 
  Armor Class 12 (natural armor) 
  Hit Points 119 (14d10 + 42) 
  Speed 20 ft., fly 20 ft. 
  STR 
  17 (+3) 
  DEX 
  14 (+2) 
  CON 
  16 (+3) 
  INT 
  7 (-2) 
  WIS 
  10 (+0) 
  CHA 
  3 (-4) 
  Skills Insight +2, Stealth +8 
  Damage Immunities necrotic, poison 
  Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from 
  non-magical weapons 
  Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, 
  grappled, paralyzed, poisoned, prone, restrained, 
  unconscious 
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10 
  Languages —   
  Challenge 7 (2,900 XP) 
  Weird Aspect. The elemental is invisible to any creature that 
  has an Alienation score of 0.  
  Shroud of Darkness. The elemental can enter a hostile 
  creature’s space and stop there, and if it does so, that 
  creature has disadvantage on saving throws. It can move 
  through a space as narrow as one inch wide without 
  squeezing. 
  Aura of Lethargy. All creatures that start their turn within 10 
  feet of the elemental must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving 
  throw or be slowed by its depressing aura until the start of 
  their next turn. Affected creatures have their speed halved, 
  can’t use reactions, can’t make more than one attack this 
  turn, and can use either their action or their bonus action, but 
  not both. 
  ACTIONS 
  Multiattack. The elemental makes two Life Drain attacks. 
  Life Drain. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 31 (8d6 + 3) necrotic damage. The target must 
  succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or its hit point 
  maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the damage 
  taken. This reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. 
  The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 
  0. 
  Demoralize (Recharge 6). The elemental attempts to drive 
  one creature it can see within 60 feet to despair. The creature 
  must succeed on a DC 14 Charisma saving throw or be 
  stunned for one round. 
   
  
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  Fear Elemental 
  Mania, paranoia, and terror give rise to the fear elemental. 
  Like other pseudoelements, it is a shifting mass of exotic 
  matter, which appears to be at least partially concealed in 
  higher, stranger, and yet unseen dimensions. 
  Madness Elemental 
  When a mortal gazes long into the Far Realm, their 
  madness can coalesce into a physical thing that gazes back. 
  These elementals come in many varieties, their behavior 
  dependent on the madness that birthed them. 
  Pain Elemental 
  This amorphous abomination is a manifestation of pain 
  itself. It knows nothing except to seek agony by inflicting it 
  on others. 
  Rage Elemental 
  Not everyone who is exposed to the Far Realm succumbs to 
  the depression and paranoia usually associated with that 
  place. Some particularly unstable souls are actually 
  overcome with bloody rage as their minds reject the 
  nightmares they witness. The rage elemental is fueled by 
  these unfortunates, spreading their destructive will far and 
  wide. 
   
  Fear Elemental 
  Large elemental, chaotic evil 
  Armor Class 15 
  Hit Points 97 (15d10 + 15) 
  Speed 30 ft., fly 90 ft. 
  STR 
  15 (+2) 
  DEX 
  20 (+5) 
  CON 
  13 (+1) 
  INT 
  6 (-2) 
  WIS 
  10 (+0) 
  CHA 
  5 (-3) 
  Skills Intimidate +6, Stealth +11 
  Damage Immunities necrotic, poison 
  Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from 
  non-magical weapons 
  Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, 
  grappled, paralyzed, poisoned, prone, restrained, 
  unconscious 
  Senses truesight 60 ft., passive Perception 10 
  Languages —   
  Challenge 7 (2,900 XP) 
  Weird Aspect. The elemental is invisible to any creature that 
  has an Alienation score of 0.  
  Incorporeal Movement. The elemental can move through 
  other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It 
  takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an 
  object. 
  Horrifying Presence. At the start of each of the elemental’s 
  turn, each creature that can hear or see it within 60 feet must 
  succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of 
  the elemental for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving 
  throw at the end of each of its turns, with disadvantage if the 
  elemental is within line of sight, ending the effect on itself on 
  a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the 
  effect ends for it, that creature is immune to the elemental’s 
  Horrifying Presence for 3 rounds. 
  ACTIONS 
  Multiattack. The elemental makes two Savage Assaults. 
  Savage Assault. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
  one target that is frightened of the elemental. Hit: 18 (2d12 + 
  5) slashing damage. 
  Spook. The elemental attempts to scare one creature it can 
  see within 15 feet of it. The creature must make a DC 16 
  Wisdom saving throw. It takes 22 (4d10) psychic damage on a 
  failure, or half as much on a success. 
   
   
  Madness Elemental 
  Large elemental (shapechanger), chaotic neutral 
  Armor Class 15 (natural armor), 17 with bony plates 
  Hit Points 133 (14d10 + 56) 
  Speed 40 ft. 
  STR 
  19 (+4) 
  DEX 
  12 (+1) 
  CON 
  18 (+4) 
  INT 
  5 (-3) 
  WIS 
  15 (+2) 
  CHA 
  4 (-3) 
  Skills Insight +8 
  Damage Immunities poison 
  Damage Resistances psychic 
  Condition Immunities exhaustion, paralyzed, petrified, 
  poisoned, unconscious 
  Senses passive Perception 12 
  Languages —   
  Challenge 7 (2,900 XP) 
  Weird Aspect. The elemental is invisible to any creature that 
  has an Alienation score of 0.  
  Shapechange. The elemental changes shape at random. Every 
  minute, roll a d6 to determine the nature of this change from 
  the effects below. If a spell or ability forces the elemental out 
  of its current shape, roll on the table again. 
  1. Adrenaline. The elemental gains a +5 bonus to checks 
  and Dexterity and Constitution saving throws. 
  2. Bony Plates. The elemental’s AC increases by 2. 
  3. Loud Voice. The elemental’s Scream of Insanity deals 2d6 
  additional damage. 
  4. Rending Claws. The elemental has advantage on attack 
  rolls with its Frenzied Strike. 
  5. Shiny Scales. The elemental has advantage on saving 
  throws against spells and other magical effects. 
  6. Wings. The elemental gains a 60 ft. fly speed. 
  ACTIONS 
  Multiattack. The elemental makes two Frenzied Strikes. 
  Frenzied Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
  one target. Hit: 17 (3d8 + 4) slashing damage. 
  Scream of Insanity. Ranged Spell Attack: +5 to hit, range 60 
  ft., one target. Hit: 30 (8d6 + 2) psychic damage. 
   
  
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  Pain Elemental 
  Large elemental, neutral evil 
  Armor Class 13 (natural armor) 
  Hit Points 102 (12d10 + 36) 
  Speed 30 ft. 
  STR 
  20 (+5) 
  DEX 
  14 (+2) 
  CON 
  17 (+3) 
  INT 
  6 (-2) 
  WIS 
  10 (+0) 
  CHA 
  6 (-2) 
  Skills Insight +8 
  Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, 
  unconscious 
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10 
  Languages —   
  Challenge 7 (2,900 XP) 
  Weird Aspect. The elemental is invisible to any creature that 
  has an Alienation score of 0.  
  Aura of Agony. At the start of each of the elemental’s turns, 
  each creature within 5 feet of it takes 10 (3d6) psychic 
  damage. A creature that touches the elemental or hits it with 
  a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 10 (3d6) psychic 
  damage. 
  ACTIONS 
  Multiattack. The elemental makes two chain attacks. 
  Chain. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) slashing damage. The target is 
  grappled (escape DC 14) if the elemental isn't already 
  grappling a creature. Until this grapple ends, the target is 
  restrained and takes 7 (2d6) piercing damage at the start of 
  each of its turns. 
  REACTIONS 
  Seeker of Pain. When the elemental is subjected to 
  bludgeoning, piercing or slashing damage from a non-magical 
  weapon, it takes no damage and instead regains a number of 
  hit points equal to the damage dealt. 
   
   
  Rage Elemental 
  Large elemental, chaotic evil 
  Armor Class 16 (natural armor) 
  Hit Points 114 (12d10 + 48) 
  Speed 30 ft. 
  STR 
  23 (+6) 
  DEX 
  15 (+2) 
  CON 
  19 (+4) 
  INT 
  4 (-3) 
  WIS 
  10 (+0) 
  CHA 
  5 (-3) 
  Skills Athletics +9, Intimidation +3 
  Damage Immunities poison 
  Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from 
  non-magical weapons 
  Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, 
  unconscious 
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10 
  Languages —   
  Challenge 7 (2,900 XP) 
  Weird Aspect. The elemental is invisible to any creature that 
  has an Alienation score of 0.  
  Blood Frenzy. The elemental has advantage on melee attack 
  rolls against any creature that doesn't have all its hit points. 
  Boundless Rage. The elemental deals an extra 7 (2d6) 
  damage when it hits with a melee weapon attack (included in 
  the attack). In addition, it has advantage on ability checks 
  relating to grappling, disarming, shoving and similar 
  maneuvers in combat. 
  ACTIONS 
  Multiattack. The elemental makes two maul attacks. 
  Maul. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 20 (4d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage. 
   
  
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  Pseudonatural 
  Beasts 
  Living things are made alien in close proximity to the Far 
  Realm. The ineffable otherness of that region seeps through 
  permanent portals and twists nearby animals and plants into 
  an insane mockery of their natural form. These 
  abominations have no place in our world, even though they 
  originated here. 
       Living Mockeries. Pseudonatural beasts mutate in 
  unique ways, sometimes to an unrecognizable extent. Each 
  creature is horrific, and broad trends include the additions 
  of many eyes, tendrils, and slimy membranes, while the 
  creature's skin becomes white and translucent. 
       Unceasing Madness. The minds of these creatures are 
  warped first, before any other mutations, with the earliest 
  sign of corruption being like rabies. Corrupted beasts are 
  tormented by perpetual insanity, and each would wish for 
  death, if they still had the capability to. 
  Pseudonatural Template 
  Beasts that live near a gateway to the Far Realm or enter 
  that place for even an instant can become pseudonatural. It  
   
  retains all its statistics, except a noted below.  
       Type. The beast's type changes from beast to aberration, 
  and it appears horribly mutated.  
       Magic Resistance. The beast has advantage on saving 
  throws against spells and other magical effects. 
       Mutations. Choose two of the following traits at 
  random. 
  d6 
  Trait 
  1 
  All-Around Vision. The beast can’t be surprised 
  and has advantage on initiative rolls. 
  2 
  Amorphous. The beast can move through a space 
  as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. 
  3 
  Blood Frenzy. The beast has advantage on melee 
  attack rolls against any creature that doesn't have 
  all its hit points. 
  4 
  Durable Hide. The beast's armor class increases 
  by 2. 
  5 
  Incorporeal Movement. The beast can move 
  through other creatures and objects as if they were 
  difficult terrain. It takes 1d10 force damage and is 
  shunted to the nearest available space if it ends its 
  turn inside an object. 
  6 
  Spider Climb. The beast gains a climb speed equal 
  to its movement speeds. 
   
  Pseudonatural Giant Eagle 
  Large aberration, neutral evil 
  Armor Class 13 
  Hit Points 26 (4d10 + 4) 
  Speed 10 ft., fly 80 ft. 
  STR 
  16 (+3) 
  DEX 
  17 (+3) 
  CON 
  13 (+1) 
  INT 
  8 (-1) 
  WIS 
  14 (+2) 
  CHA 
  10 (+0) 
  Skills Perception +4 
  Senses passive Perception 14 
  Languages Giant Eagle, understands Common and Auran but 
  can’t speak them   
  Challenge 2 (200 XP) 
  Keen Sight. The eagle has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) 
  checks that rely on sight. 
  Magic Resistance. The eagle has advantage on saving throws 
  against spells and other magical effects. 
  Blood Frenzy. The eagle has advantage on melee attack rolls 
  against any creature that doesn't have all its hit points. 
  ACTIONS 
  Multiattack. The eagle makes two attacks: one with its beak 
  and one with its talons. 
  Beak. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage. 
  Talons. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) slashing damage. 
   
   
  Pseudonatural Bear 
  Medium aberration, unaligned 
  Armor Class 13 (natural armor) 
  Hit Points 19 (3d8 + 6) 
  Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft. 
  STR 
  15 (+2) 
  DEX 
  10 (+0) 
  CON 
  14 (+2) 
  INT 
  2 (-4) 
  WIS 
  12 (+1) 
  CHA 
  7 (-2) 
  Skills Perception +3 
  Senses passive Perception 13 
  Languages —   
  Challenge 1/2 (200 XP) 
  Keen Smell. The bear has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) 
  checks that rely on smell. 
  Magic Resistance. The bear has advantage on saving throws 
  against spells and other magical effects. 
  Amorphous. The bear can move through a space as narrow as 
  1 inch wide without squeezing. 
  ACTIONS 
  Multiattack. The bear makes two attacks: one with its bite 
  and one with its claws. 
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage. 
  Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 7 (2d4 + 2) slashing damage. 
   
  
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  Tsochar 
  Parasitic infiltrators from a cold and distant world, the 
  tsochari seek to steal the bodies of the wealthy and 
  influential to further their nefarious goals. 
       Wearers of Flesh. A tsochar resembles a tangled mess 
  of knotted ropes or a ball of barbed wire. It has dozens of 
  thin but strong tentacles, each studded with small, sharp, 
  sicklelike claws. Its body is little more than a thickening 
  and joining of its multiple limbs. 
       A tsochar can bore its way into a helpless living 
  creature’s body, slipping its ropy tendrils into the spaces 
  between organs and muscles and disappearing into the 
  victim's cavities. The tsochar can inhabit this host for years, 
  parasitically feeding on the host's body and nervous system 
  while manipulating it as a living puppet, even against its 
  will. If the host provides too much resistance, the tsochar 
  can bore out the host's nervous system, killing it and 
  replacing the host entirely. This is often the tsochar's last 
  effort, as the body without fail begins to wither and die 
  shortly thereafter. 
       Appetite for Power. The tsochari crave power in all its 
  forms, but hold arcane might in especially high regard. 
  They eagerly seek out humanoid wizards to replace so they 
  can steal away our world's arcane secrets. In order to 
  achieve this goal, a small number of tsochari might 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  infiltrate a church, university, or even a nation, inhabiting 
  as much of the leadership as possible to seize a faction to 
  further their efforts. Complex, grand schemes are not 
  outside the scope of tsochari ambition. 
       The ultimate goals of the tsochari are mysterious. It 
  seems that they seek some deep arcane magic, but its 
  purpose is largely unknown. 
       Invaders from another World. The tsochari hail from a 
  world distant in space, a cold and lightless place so remote 
  that the sun is little more than a bright star in a black sky. 
  Long ago, powerful arcanists built gates linking certain 
  terrible ruins in the normal world with the horrible world of 
  the tsochari. Through these ancient gates, the tsochari steal 
  into the world to roam human lands and infiltrate human 
  society. 
   
   
  Tsochar 
  Small aberration, lawful evil 
  Armor Class 14 (natural armor) 
  Hit Points 44 (8d8 + 8) 
  Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft., fly 35 ft. 
  STR 
  15 (+2) 
  DEX 
  15 (+2) 
  CON 
  13 (+1) 
  INT 
  14 (+2) 
  WIS 
  11 (+0) 
  CHA 
  10 (+0) 
  Skills Deception +4, Perception +4, Stealth +6 
  Damage Resistances lightning, poison 
  Condition Immunities blinded, prone 
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12 
  Languages understands Common, but can't speak, telepathy 60 ft. 
  Challenge 4 (1100 XP) 
  Grappler. The tsochar has advantage on attack rolls against any 
  creature grappled by it. 
  ACTIONS 
  Multiattack. The tsochar makes two attacks with its tentacles. 
  Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  creature. Hit: 7 (1d10+2) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a 
  Small or larger creature, it is grappled (escape DC 15). 
   
  Wear Flesh. The tsochar can attempt to bore its way into the body 
  of a Small or larger humanoid that is incapacitated or has been 
  grappled for three consecutive rounds by the tsochar. This process 
  takes 1 minute of concentration during which the target is 
  incapacitated. This creature becomes the tsochar's host. The 
  tsochar can choose to Inhabit or Replace the host. 
   While inside a host, the tsochar cannot be targeted by attacks or 
  spells. When the host takes damage (other than the damage the 
  tsochar inflicts on it), the tsochar takes half this damage. 
  Inhabit. The tsochar leaves its host alive and aware. The tsochar can 
  take no actions while inhabiting a host other than those described 
  here. 
   At any time as an action, the tsochar can inflict indescribable 
  agony to its host, dealing 1d8 to 5d8 damage and incapacitating the 
  host for 1 round. Each week the tsochar inhabits the host, the 
  host's Constitution score decreases by 1. If the host dies for any 
  reason, the tsochar can choose to Replace the host or leave it. 
  Replace. The tsochar bores out the host's nervous system, killing it 
  and animating the body as its puppet. The body is effectively dead 
  and begins to decay at the normal rate. After 1 month, the host in 
  uninhabitable. The host's body has HP equal to half its HP maximum 
  and it can't regain HP. 
   The tsochar can control the host's body directly and can take any 
  actions of the host of its turn. If the host had spell slots prepared, 
  the tsochar can cast spells as the host, but can't regain spell slots. 
   
   
  
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  Xenophage 
  These terrible, amorphic abominations, which dwell on the 
  near side of portals to the Far Realm, are most familiar of 
  that alien realm's inhabitants. Though they dwell in the 
  mindless chaos, these creatures are exposed to minute 
  aspects of our reality, like our finite spatial dimensions and 
  the concept of time, and seek to destroy it, for the very 
  fabric of our world is as inimical to them as theirs is 
  incomprehensible to us. 
       Utterly Alien. Xenophages are native to a reality whose 
  rules are wholly different from our own and look nothing 
  like creatures from our plane of existence. They resemble a 
  single mass of vicious, yet translucent matter, arranged in a 
  manifold of intersecting layers. Rotating around them 
  reveals complex higher dimensionality to their layers that 
  strains the eyes and the mind to observe. Yet as 
  incomprehensible and dangerous as these creatures, they 
  are the simplest and least menacing of the Far Realm's 
  inhabitants.  
       Few of our laws apply to these bizarre creatures. Gravity 
  is a foreign concept to them, for the Far Realm has no such 
  force, and yet when one of these creatures is transported to 
  our world, it hovers defiantly in the air, refusing the hold of 
  the ground. Even magic has a diminished effect on them, 
  for it has difficulty suffusing their complex layers. 
       Immunity of Reality.  To an outside observer, a 
  xenophage might seem completely mindless, but its 
  aggression is well-deserved. Just as the Far Realm is alien 
  and corrupting to us, so too is our reality to it. The 
  introduction of concepts like finite space and time spread 
  some distance into the Far Realm and agitate its 
  inhabitants, like a light in infinite darkness. Xenophages are 
  some such creatures, and violently surge toward the 
  prominent breaches, sometimes in enough number to form 
  a temporary seal. Other times, the xenophages are pulled 
  through to the near side of our reality, and in the rarest of 
  occurrences, they encounter a poor soul from our reality, 
  tempted to its doom in the Far Realm.  
       In all cases, the xenophages consume and decompose 
  the material from our reality, somehow including abstract 
  concepts like space and time, transforming it into 
  pseudostuff. This process steadily thins the ties to our 
  reality and diminishes temporary portals into nothing. In 
  this way, perhaps only by coincidence, these creatures act 
  as an immune system for our world, closing small breaches 
  and menacing the great gates which connect us to the Far 
  Realm. 
   
   
  Xenophage 
  Large elemental, unaligned 
  Armor Class 8 
  Hit Points 253 (22d10 + 110) 
  Speed 25 ft., fly 25 ft. 
  STR 
  18 (+4) 
  DEX 
  6 (-2) 
  CON 
  21 (+5) 
  INT 
  6 (-2) 
  WIS 
  11 (+0) 
  CHA 
  1 (-5) 
  Damage Immunities psychic 
  Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, 
  exhaustion, frightened, prone 
  Senses blindsight 120 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive 
  Perception 10 
  Languages —   
  Challenge 12 (8,400 XP) 
  Amorphous. The xenophage can move through a space as 
  narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.  
  Magic Resistance. The xenophage has advantage on saving 
  throws against spells and other magical effects. 
  ACTIONS 
  Multiattack. The xenophage makes three pseudopod attacks. 
  Pseudopod. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  creature. Hit: 21 (3d10 + 4) force damage. 
  Devour Reality. The xenophage attempts to annihilate all 
  creatures and objects within 5 feet of the it. Nonmagical 
  objects that aren't being worn or carried are obliterated 
  instantly. A creature that is pulled toward the xenophage 
  takes 4d10 force damage. 
       When a creature is reduced to 0 hit points, it, and 
  everything it is wearing and carrying, except magic items, are 
  decomposed from existence. The creature can be restored to 
  life only by means of a true resurrection or a wish spell. 
  REACTIONS 
  Morphic Resistance (3/Day). If the xenophage is hit by an 
  attack, it can choose to make that attack miss instead. 
   
  
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  Chapter 6: Spells 
  These spells are derived from forbidden knowledge, often 
  from the limitless wisdom of the Great Old Ones 
  themselves. Using them is often directly harmful to one’s 
  health, and frequently damaging to one’s psyche.  
       The chapter begins with the lists of additional spells for 
  the spellcasting classes. The remainder contains spell 
  descriptions, presented in alphabetical order by the name of 
  the spell. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Spell Descriptions 
  These spells are listed in alphabetical order. 
  Aberrate 
  2nd-level transmutation 
  Casting Time: 1 action 
  Range: Self 
  Components: V, S 
  Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes 
  This spell uses energies from the Far Realm to distort your 
  body. As a result, your anatomy becomes fluid, constantly 
  refreshing into new and more terrible shapes. For the 
  duration, you do not take extra damage from critical hits. 
       Additionally, your body adapts to threats as it warps. 
  After you take damage while this spell is active, you can 
  use your reaction to gain resistance to that damage type 
  until this spell ends or until you use this ability again to 
  gain resistance to a different damage type. 
  Bard Spells 
  1st Level 
  Flawed Reconstruction 
  Lashing Tendrils 
  2nd Level 
  Intrusive Thought 
  Stranger 
  3rd Level 
  Yellow Sign 
  4th Level 
  Arcane Convolution 
  6th Level 
  Frenzy 
  Cleric Spells 
  1st Level 
  Flawed Reconstruction 
  Lashing Tendrils 
  2nd Level 
  Aberrate 
  4th Level 
  Arcane Convolution 
  6th Level 
  Frenzy 
  Druid Spells 
  1st Level 
  Lashing Tendrils 
  2nd Level 
  Aberrate 
  4th Level 
  Conjure Pseudonatural Beasts 
   
   
  5th Level 
  Conjure Pseudoelemental 
  Sorcerer Spells 
  1st Level 
  Flawed Reconstruction 
  Heedless Lash 
  2nd Level 
  Intrusive Thought 
  Mistbound 
  Stranger 
  3rd Level 
  Scouring Mists 
  Yellow Sign 
  4th Level 
  Arcane Convolution 
  5th Level 
  Oblivion 
  6th Level 
  Frenzy 
  9th Level 
  Mists of Time 
  Warlock Spells 
  1st Level 
  Flawed Reconstruction 
  Lashing Tendrils 
  2nd Level 
  Aberrate 
  Intrusive Thought 
  Stranger 
  3rd Level 
  Yellow Sign 
   
  4th Level 
  Arcane Convolution 
  6th Level 
  Frenzy 
  Wizard Spells 
  1st Level 
  Flawed Reconstruction 
  Heedless Lash 
  Lashing Tendrils 
  2nd Level 
  Aberrate 
  Intrusive Thought 
  Mistbound 
  Stranger 
   
  3rd Level 
  Scouring Mists 
  Yellow Sign 
  4th Level 
  Arcane Convolution 
  Conjure Pseudonatural Beasts 
  5th Level 
  Oblivion 
  Conjure Pseudoelemental 
  6th Level 
  Frenzy 
  9th Level 
  Mists of Time 
   
  
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  Arcane Convolution 
  4th-level abjuration 
  Casting Time: 1 action 
  Range: Self (120-foot radius) 
  Components: V, S, M (a pinch of powdered glass) 
  Duration: 1 minute 
  This spell distorts the rules of the universe in a short range 
  around you, wreaking arcane havoc. For the duration, some 
  damage types are exchanged with others, as shown on the 
  table below. 
       Additionally, no creature within range can regain hit 
  points due to magic. Instead, when a creature would regain 
  hit points, it must make a Constitution saving throw or take 
  necrotic damage equal to the amount it would have 
  regained (rounded down.) 
  Damage Type 
  Damage Type 
  Cold 
  Fire 
  Necrotic 
  Radiant 
  Lightning 
  Thunder 
  Acid 
  Poison 
  Force 
  Psychic 
  Conjure Pseudoelemental 
  5th-level conjuration 
  Casting Time: 1 minute 
  Range: 90 feet 
  Components: V, S, M (a cup of human blood) 
  Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour 
  You call forth a horrible creature from beyond the stars, to 
  do your bidding. An elemental creature of your choice (a 
  despair elemental, fear elemental, madness elemental, pain 
  elemental, or rage elemental) emerges from a portal that 
  opens within range. 
       The elemental disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or 
  when the spell ends. 
       The elemental is friendly to you and your companions 
  for the duration. Roll initiative for the elemental, which has 
  its own turns. It obeys any verbal commands that you issue 
  to it (no action required by you). If you don’t issue any 
  commands to the elemental, it defends itself from hostile 
  creatures but otherwise takes no actions. 
       If your concentration is broken, the elemental doesn’t 
  disappear. Instead, you lose control of the elemental, it 
  becomes hostile toward you and your companions, and it 
  might attack. An uncontrolled elemental can’t be dismissed 
  by you, and it disappears 1 hour after you summoned it. 
       The GM has the creatures’ statistics. 
  Conjure Pseudonatural Beasts 
  4th-level conjuration 
  Casting Time: 1 minute 
  Range: 90 feet 
  Components: V, S, M (a cup of human blood) 
  Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour 
  You summon pseudonatural beasts (any beast with the 
  pseudonatural template) that appear in unoccupied spaces 
  that you can see within range. You choose one the 
  following options for what appears:  
  • One beast of challenge rating 2 or lower  
  • Two beasts of challenge rating 1 or lower  
  • Four beasts of challenge rating 1/2 or lower  
  • Eight beasts of challenge rating 1/4 or lower  
  Each beast disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when 
  the spell ends.  
       The summoned creatures are friendly to you and your 
  companions. Roll initiative for the summoned creatures as 
  a group, which has its own turns. They obey any verbal 
  commands that you issue to them (no action required by 
  you). If you don’t issue any commands to them, they 
  defend themselves from hostile creatures, but otherwise 
  take no actions.  
       The GM has the creatures’ statistics.  
       At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using certain 
  higher-level spell slots, you choose one of the summoning 
  options above, and more creatures appear: twice as many 
  with a 5th-level slot, three times as many with a 7th-level 
  slot, and four times as many with a 9th-level slot. 
  Flawed Reconstruction 
  1st-level transmutation 
  Casting Time: 1 action 
  Range: Touch 
  Components: V, S, M (a needle and thread) 
  Duration: Instantaneous  
  You stitch together the wounds of a creature you touch, 
  which regains 4d6 hit points. However, the mending is 
  imperfect, and the target's maximum hit points is decreased 
  by the same amount until it finishes a long rest. A creature 
  that regains hit points due to this spell will be left with 
  some permanent scars. 
       At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell 
  slot of 2nd level or higher, the healing increases by 1d8 for 
  each slot level above 1st. 
   
  
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  Frenzy 
  6th-level enchantment 
  Casting Time: 1 action 
  Range: 120 feet 
  Components: V, S, M (a drop of fresh blood) 
  Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute 
  With a gesture, you reduce a crowd to base instinct and 
  violence. Choose a point you can see within range. Each 
  creature within 20 feet of that point must make a Wisdom 
  saving throw. On a failed save, a creature is frenzied for the 
  duration. 
       When a creature is frenzied, it draws a melee weapon, if 
  it has one. If it does not have a melee weapon, the creature 
  must use an improvised weapon or unarmed strikes for 
  attacks. 
       A frenzied creature must use its action at the beginning 
  of its turn to attack a creature within its reach. It uses a 
  melee weapon, if it has one, or an improvised weapon or 
  unarmed strike, if it does not. If multiple targets are within 
  the creature’s reach, it chooses its target randomly. If there 
  is no target within the creature’s reach, it attacks itself, and 
  automatically succeeds such an attack roll. 
       At the end of its turn, a frenzied creature can repeat its 
  saving throw, ending the effect on it early on a success. 
  Heedless Lash 
  1st-level conjuration 
  Casting Time: 1 action 
  Range: 120 feet 
  Components: V, S 
  Duration: Instantaneous 
  You conjure forth a glowing, white tendril formed of the 
  Dead Mists of R'lyeh, which lashes out at a foe, but also 
  wracks you with pain. Make a ranged spell attack roll 
  against a creature within range; if you hit, the target takes 
  4d8 necrotic damage. You take 1d8 necrotic damage when 
  you cast this spell. This damage ignores both damage 
  resistance and damage immunity. 
       At Higher Levels. If you cast this spell using a slot of 
  2nd level or higher, the damage to your target increases by 
  2d8 and the damage to yourself increases by 1d8 for each 
  slot level above 1st. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Intrusive Thought 
  2nd-level transmutation 
  Casting Time: 1 reaction, which you take when you see a 
  creature within 60 feet of you taking an action 
  Range: 60 feet 
  Components: V, S 
  Duration: Instantaneous 
  As a reaction when a creature you can see within range 
  takes the Attack, Dash, Dodge, or Disengage action, you 
  can attempt to distort its thinking. The target makes a 
  Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature 
  instead takes your choice of those actions. 
  Lashing Tendrils 
  1st-level transmutation 
  Casting Time: 1 action 
  Range: Self 
  Components: V, S, M (the end of an octopus tentacle) 
  Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute 
  You sprout grotesque, whipping tendrils which 
  automatically attack nearby creatures. When a creature 
  comes within 5 feet of you or begins its turn there, it must 
  make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 2d6 
  bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much on a 
  successful one. 
       At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell 
  slot of 2nd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for 
  each slot level above 1st. 
  Mistbound 
  2nd-level conjuration 
  Casting Time: 1 action 
  Range: Self (20-foot radius) 
  Components: V, S 
  Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute 
  
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  When you cast this spell, glowing white tendrils of smoke 
  reach up from the ground in a 20-foot radius area around 
  the point where you stand. When a creature other than you 
  enters the affected area for the first time on a turn or starts 
  its turn there, the creature must succeed on a Dexterity 
  saving throw or be grappled by the tentacles until the spell 
  ends. A creature other than you that starts its turn in the 
  area and is already grappled by the tentacles can make a 
  Strength or Dexterity check (its choice) against your spell 
  save DC. On a failure, it can't take actions or reactions until 
  the start of its next turn. On a success, it frees itself. 
       When you cast this spell, you take 2d8 necrotic damage, 
  and you take an additional 1d8 necrotic damage at the end 
  of each round you concentrate on it. This damage ignores 
  both damage resistance and damage immunity. 
  Mists of Time 
  9th-level transmutation 
  Casting Time: 1 action 
  Range: Self  
  Components: V, S 
  Duration: Instantaneous 
  You throw caution to the wind and wrap yourself in the 
  Mists of R'leyh, imposing a shadow of the past on your 
  mind and body. You regain 4 spell slots of 5th level or 
  lower. 
       When you cast this spell, you can choose drink deep the 
  Dead Mists and take necrotic damage equal to half your 
  current hit points. This damage ignores both damage 
  resistance and damage immunity. If you do so, you regain 
  the expended uses of up to three abilities which normally 
  recover when you take a rest. 
       Once you cast this spell, you cannot cast it again for 24 
  hours, even if you have an available 9th level spell slot. 
  Oblivion 
  5th-level conjuration 
  Casting Time: 1 action 
  Range: Self (40-foot radius) 
  Components: V, S 
  Duration: Instantaneous 
  You open an instantaneous portal to the heart of R'lyeh, 
  allowing the Dead Mists to wreak havoc. Each creature 
  within a 40-foot radius area around you (including 
  yourself) must make a Dexterity saving throw. A target 
  takes 6d8 necrotic and 6d8 bludgeoning damage on a failed 
  save, or half as much on a successful one. 
   
       When you cast this spell, you can choose to take 10 
  points of necrotic damage, which ignores both damage 
  resistance and damage immunity. If you do so, you can 
  choose a number of creatures in the area equal to your 
  spellcasting modifier. The chosen creatures automatically 
  succeed on the saving throw against this spell. 
  Scouring Mists 
  3rd-level conjuration 
  Casting Time: 1 action 
  Range: 120 feet 
  Components: V, S, M (a handful of white phosphorous) 
  Duration: Instantaneous 
  With a gesture, you fling 4 waves of the Dead Mist at 
  targets within range, rending their flesh from their bones. 
  You may fire them at one target or several. A target must 
  make a Dexterity saving throw for each wave they are 
  targeted with. A target takes 3d6 necrotic damage on a 
  failed save, and half as much on a successful one. 
       When you cast this spell, you take 1d8 necrotic damage 
  for each wave you launch. This damage ignores damage 
  resistance and damage immunity. 
      At Higher Levels. If you cast this spell using a spell slot 
  of 4th level or higher, you can fling an additional wave per 
  slot level above 3rd. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
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  Stranger 
  2nd-level illusion 
  Casting Time: 1 action 
  Range: Touch 
  Components: V, S 
  Duration: 1 hour 
  You make a creature that you touch look and sound 
  completely unfamiliar. You don't decide the exact nature of 
  these changes. Instead, the creature's appearance, including 
  its clothing, armor, weapons, and belongings, change to 
  seem completely unremarkable to anyone that sees it. For 
  example, if the target is present at a royal ball, it might 
  appear as a well-dressed nobleman, or if the target is 
  walking among a group of orc mercenaries, it might appear 
  as a typical orc warrior. 
       Different creatures may perceive different changes 
  wrought by this spell. If two creatures that have seen the 
  target discuss its appearance or voice in detail, they can 
  discern that it is disguised with a successful Intelligence 
  (Insight) check against your spell save DC. 
  Yellow Sign 
  3rd-level evocation 
  Casting Time: 1 action 
  Range: Self 
  Components: V, S 
  Duration: Instantaneous 
  You trace in the air the insidious symbol from Lost 
  Carcosa, the yellow sign, where it hangs for a long moment 
  in a sickening yellow light. Each creature you choose 
  within 30 feet of the sign must make a Wisdom saving 
  throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 6d6 psychic 
  damage, or half as much on a successful save. Aberrations 
  take no damage from this spell. The sign fades at the end of 
  your turn. 
       At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell 
  slot of 4th level or higher, the yellow sign lingers longer in 
  the air. The duration of this spell increases by one round for 
  each slot level above 3rd and requires that you maintain 
  concentration on it. If this spell is active at the beginning on 
  your turn, you can use your action to cause each creature 
  within range to make another saving throw against it, 
  taking damage as normal on a failed save. 
   
   
   
  Appendix A: 
  Madness 
  In a typical campaign, characters aren’t driven mad by the 
  horrors they face and the carnage they inflict day after day, 
  but sometimes the stress of being an adventurer can be too 
  much to bear. If your campaign has a strong horror theme, 
  you might want to use madness as a way to reinforce that 
  theme, emphasizing the extraordinarily horrific nature of 
  the threats the adventurers face. 
  Going Mad 
  Various magical effects can inflict madness on an 
  otherwise stable mind. Certain spells, such as contact other 
  plane and symbol, can cause insanity, and you can use the 
  madness rules here instead of the spell effects of those 
  spells. Diseases, poisons, and planar effects can all inflict 
  madness. Some artifacts can also break the psyche of a 
  character who uses or becomes attuned to them.  
       Resisting a madness-inducing effect usually requires a 
  Wisdom or Charisma saving throw. 
  Madness Effects 
  Madness can be short-term, long-term, or indefinite. Most 
  relatively mundane effects impose short-term madness, 
  which lasts for just a few minutes. More horrific effects or 
  cumulative effects can result in long-term or indefinite 
  madness.  
       A character afflicted with short-term madness is 
  subjected to an effect from the Short-Term Madness table 
  for 1d10 minutes.  
       A character afflicted with long-term madness is 
  subjected to an effect from the Long-Term Madness table 
  for 1d10 × 10 hours.  
       A character afflicted with indefinite madness gains a 
  new character flaw from the Indefinite Madness table that 
  lasts until cured. 
  Short-Term Madness  
  d100 
  Effect (lasts 1d10 minutes) 
  1-20 
  The character retreats into his or her mind 
  and becomes paralyzed. The effect ends if 
  the character takes any damage. 
  
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  21-30 
  The character becomes incapacitated and 
  spends the duration screaming, laughing, or 
  weeping. 
  31-40 
  The character becomes frightened and must 
  use his or her action and movement each 
  round to flee from the source of the fear. 
  41-50 
  The character begins babbling and is 
  incapable of normal speech or spellcasting. 
  51-60 
  The character must use his or her action 
  each round to attack the nearest creature. 
  61-70 
  The character experiences vivid 
  hallucinations and has disadvantage on 
  ability checks. 
  71-75 
  The character does whatever anyone tells 
  him or her to do that isn’t obviously self-
  destructive. 
  76-80 
  The character experiences an overpowering 
  urge to eat something strange such as dirt, 
  slime, or offal. 
  81-90 
  The character is stunned. 
  91-00 
  The character falls unconscious. 
   
  Long-Term Madness  
  d100 
  Effect (lasts 1d10 × 10 hours) 
  1-10 
  The character feels compelled to repeat a 
  specific activity over and over, such as 
  washing hands, touching things, praying, or 
  counting coins. 
  11-20 
  The character experiences vivid 
  hallucinations and has disadvantage on 
  ability checks. 
  21-30 
  The character suffers extreme paranoia. The 
  character has disadvantage on Wisdom and 
  Charisma checks. 
  31-40 
  The character regards something (usually the 
  source of madness) with intense revulsion, 
  as if affected by the antipathy effect of the 
  antipathy/sympathy spell. 
  41-45 
  The character experiences a powerful 
  delusion. Choose a potion. The character 
  imagines that he or she is under its effects. 
  46-55 
  The character becomes attached to a “lucky 
  charm,” such as a person or an object, and 
  has disadvantage on attack rolls, ability 
  checks, and saving throws while more than 
  30 feet from it. 
  56-65 
  The character is blinded (25%) or deafened 
  (75%). 
  66-75 
  The character experiences uncontrollable 
  tremors or tics, which impose disadvantage 
  on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving 
  throws that involve Strength or Dexterity. 
  76-85 
  The character suffers from partial amnesia. 
  The character knows who he or she is and 
  retains racial traits and class features, but 
  doesn’t recognize other people or remember 
  anything that happened before the madness 
  took effect. 
  86-90 
  Whenever the character takes damage, he or 
  she must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving 
  throw or be affected as though he or she 
  failed a saving throw against the confusion 
  spell. The confusion effect lasts for 1 minute. 
  91-95 
  The character loses the ability to speak. 
  96-00 
  The character falls unconscious. No amount 
  of jostling or damage can wake the character. 
   
  Indefinite Madness  
  d100 
  Flaw (lasts until cured) 
  1-15 
  “Being drunk keeps me sane.” 
  16-25 
  “I keep whatever I find.” 
  26-30 
  “I try to become more like someone else I 
  know—adopting his or her style of dress, 
  mannerisms, and name.” 
  31-35 
  “I must bend the truth, exaggerate, or 
  outright lie to be interesting to other people.” 
  36-45 
  “Achieving my goal is the only thing of 
  interest to me, and I’ll ignore everything else 
  to pursue it.” 
  46-50 
  “I find it hard to care about anything that 
  goes on around me.” 
  51-55 
  “I don’t like the way people judge me all the 
  time.” 
  56-70 
  “I am the smartest, wisest, strongest, fastest, 
  and most beautiful person I know.” 
  71-80 
  “I am convinced that powerful enemies are 
  hunting me, and their agents are everywhere 
  I go. I am sure they’re watching me all the 
  time.” 
  81-85 
  “There’s only one person I can trust. And 
  only I can see this special friend.” 
  86-95 
  “I can’t take anything seriously. The more 
  serious the situation, the funnier I find it.” 
  96-00 
  “I’ve discovered that I really like killing 
  people.” 
  Curing Madness 
  A calm emotions spell can suppress the effects of madness, 
  while a lesser restoration spell can rid a character of a 
  short-term or long-term madness. Depending on the source 
  of the madness, remove curse or dispel evil might also 
  prove effective. A greater restoration spell or more 
  powerful magic is required to rid a character of indefinite 
  madness. 
  
   
   
  Producers 
  Dylan VInyard 
  Anthony 
  Loschert 
  S L Hall 
  Daniel 
  Lamoureux 
  Neyd Harlequin 
  Mike Litkewitsch 
  Jason Sinclair 
  Matthew Atkins 
  LeoSaysNO 
  Jared Masouras 
  Kyle Bowley 
  Zane Weber 
  William Dunbar 
  Joshua Cates 
  Jordan Snyder 
  Garrett Lloyd 
  Joe Shine 
  Eddie Freeman 
  Sasquatch 
  Brandon 
  Tyler Fewell 
  Spencer Houston 
  Guðmundur 
  Guðmundsson 
  Kurt C Yost 
  Anthony 
  Zackary D 
  Szechenyi 
  Fernando 
  Fonseca 
  Blaine Conner 
  Wes Decker 
  Travis Prosser 
  Ryan Ely 
  The Palm of 
  Vecna 
  Eike Schultz 
  Patrick van der 
  Linde 
  Patrick Jackson 
   
  Art Credits 
   
  p. 8, 19, 29, 32 by Martin Kirby 
  All other art is public domain 
   
   
  License 
  This material is being released under the Open Gaming License. 
  OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a  
  The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc ("Wizards"). All Rights Reserved.  
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  Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. System Reference Document 5.0 2  
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  14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable. 15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE  
  Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.  
  System Reference Document 5.0 Copyright 2016, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; 
  Lovecraft Handbook Copyright 2016, Mage Hand Press; authors Michael Holik, Jaron Mortimer, Benjamin Richardson, Matthew Pennell
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/Mage Hand Press/Lovecraft Handbook.pdf