168 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
168 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
# The Possession — Bren's Subplot
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## Overview
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Bren Aldara was an arcanist. Seven years ago, he studied the thin point—the still-sealed tear in the Old Work beneath the Nether Inn—and something latched on. **Skein**, a parasitic entity from the Ethereal Plane, attached itself to Bren's mind and has been feeding on him ever since. What the tavern patrons see as a madman talking to himself is a prisoner begging his captor for mercy.
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This subplot is about recognizing that what looks like madness is actually captivity, and choosing whether to do anything about it.
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---
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## Skein — The Parasite
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### Nature
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Skein is not a fiend, not undead, not aberrant in the traditional sense. It's a **planar parasite** — a creature native to the border between planes, evolved to feed on minds that cross the boundary. It resembles a translucent spider made of knotted, twisting threads, roughly the size of a large dog, with too many legs that move independently. Thread-like tendrils extend from its body into Bren's skull.
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### Stat Block
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**Skein** — Small monstrosity, neutral evil
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*Exists only on the Ethereal Plane unless forced into the Material Plane*
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**AC** 13 (natural) | **HP** 38 (7d6+14) | **Speed** 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
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| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
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|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|
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| 6 (-2) | 16 (+3) | 14 (+2) | 14 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 8 (-1) |
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**Saving Throws** WIS +5, DEX +5
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**Skills** Stealth +7, Perception +5
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**Damage Resistances** psychic; bludgeoning, piercing, slashing from nonmagical attacks
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**Condition Immunities** charmed, frightened
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**Senses** blindsight 30 ft. (through host), darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
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**Languages** understands Common and Elvish (through Bren); communicates telepathically with host only
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### Traits
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**Parasitic Bond.** While bonded to a host, Skein can see through the host's eyes, hear through the host's ears, and speak through the host's mouth. It can suppress or override the host's actions (no save — the bond is too old for resistance). Skein always knows the host's location and emotional state.
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**Ethereal Existence.** Skein exists on the Ethereal Plane. It cannot be attacked or affected by anything on the Material Plane. *See Invisibility* and similar magic can reveal it, but do not allow interaction across the planar boundary.
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**Thread Tendrils.** Skein's tendrils extend up to 10 feet from it and overlap the host's body across the planar boundary. Severing a tendril (AC 13, 5 HP per tendril; it must be attacked from the Ethereal Plane) causes Skein to lose control of the host for 1 round per tendril severed. Skein has 6 tendrils. They regenerate in 1d4 hours.
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**Mind Drain.** Each day Skein remains bonded, the host's Wisdom is reduced by 1 (minimum 1). This reduction can only be restored by Greater Restoration or by permanently killing Skein. Bren's Wisdom has been reduced from 16 to 6 over seven years (it didn't drain every day — some days Skein rests).
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### Actions
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**Psychic Lash.** Ranged Spell Attack (Ethereal Plane only): +5 to hit, range 30 ft., one creature that can perceive Skein. Hit: 10 (3d6) psychic damage.
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**Suppress Host.** Skein forces the host to perform a specific action (speak, move, attack) or prevents the host from performing an action. No save. The host is aware of what's happening and cannot resist.
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**Flee (1/day).** If Skein is reduced to 10 HP or below, it detaches from the host and flees into the Ethereal Plane at double speed. The tendrils retract violently — the host takes 7 (2d6) psychic damage and is stunned for 1 round.
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### Reactions
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**Silence the Host.** When the host attempts to communicate information Skein doesn't want shared, Skein forces a DC 15 Wisdom save (using the host's reduced WIS of 6, so Bren rolls at -2). On a failure, the host's words become garbled, the sentence becomes incoherent, or the host experiences sudden pain that stops the attempt. On a success (rare, but this is where natural 20s create lucid moments), the host speaks one clear sentence.
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---
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## DM — Bren as a Xarrul-Detector
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Skein is deeply afraid of Xarrul, and fear *distracts* it. When the fiend comes near, Skein's attention snaps to the bigger predator, its grip on Bren slips, and Bren surfaces. This is why his lucid windows cluster around Xarrul's presence: beyond the occasional sentence that slips past Skein's active silencing (see **Silence the Host**, above), the *deeper* lucidity comes from the parasite being too frightened to concentrate. Xarrul knows this and does **not** provoke Skein on purpose — agitating the parasite would only free the witness's tongue. But it can't help it: **its mere presence sets Skein off.**
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The upshot for the table: **Bren is a fiend-detector the players can learn to read.** When the madman suddenly goes rigid, stares at empty air, or snaps briefly coherent, Xarrul is near *right now* — often because it has just come close to work the room or to edit a memory (its **Waking Dream** needs line of sight; see [Xarrul — The Two Jobs](../npc/xarrul.md)). Kael witnessed this during the brawl without understanding it: Bren went stiff, staring at the bar, at the exact moment Xarrul was killing Orenn behind it. A party that clocks the pattern gains a dowsing rod for the invisible thing hunting them — and a warning that a memory near them may have just been rewritten.
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---
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## How Players Discover the Possession
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### Stage 1: Something's Off
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Players talk to Bren and notice he's not just raving randomly:
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- His eyes track something that isn't there (DC 10 Perception)
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- He responds to unheard voices with specific emotions — fear, appeasement, anger (DC 12 Insight)
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- His "madness" has a structure: he argues, negotiates, and submits, as if in conversation with someone controlling and abusive
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### Stage 2: Magical Investigation
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- **Detect Magic** on Bren: Abjuration and Enchantment signatures. Something is bound to him.
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- **DC 14 Arcana** while examining Bren: There's an anchor point — something attached to his mind from another plane. It's not a curse in the traditional sense; it's a *presence*.
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- **Detect Evil and Good** (Dalla can cast this): Registers as an aberration/monstrosity anchored to Bren from the Ethereal Plane.
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- **The bookmarked arcane volumes beside Haddon's table:** Three entries initially look plausible: [Ethereal Skeins](../prints/o-eterickem-predivu.md), [Mist Leeches](../prints/o-mlznych-pijavicich.md) and the [Return Echo](../prints/o-navratove-ozvene.md). Observation eliminates the latter two: a mist leech cannot censor speech or control movement, while a return echo has no independent body or tendrils. Only the Skein entry matches everything, and its marginal notes are signed **B. A.**
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### Stage 3: Seeing Skein
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Requires ethereal sight:
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- **See Invisibility** (Essek can cast this) — reveals Skein directly
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- **Orenn's silver mirror** — provides the effect of *See Invisibility* within its reflection, revealing Skein and the six tendrils entering Bren's skull; it does not make Skein Material or allow attacks to cross
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### Read-Aloud: Seeing Skein for the First Time
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> *Svět se změní. Éterická rovina se přeloží přes skutečnost jako průsvitná fólie a najednou vidíte věci, které jste předtím jen tušili. Stíny mají hloubku. Zdi mají ozvěny.*
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> *A vedle Brena — tam, kde jste vždycky viděli jen prázdný vzduch — sedí něco.*
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>
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> *Připomíná to pavouka, pokud byste si dokázali představit pavouka uvázaného z provázků, z uzlů, ze zamotaných vláken, která se neustále svíjejí a převazují. Je velký jako pes. Má příliš mnoho noh a každá se pohybuje nezávisle, v jiném rytmu. Z jeho těla vedou tenká, průsvitná vlákna — šest jich je — a ta vlákna vedou do Brenovy hlavy. Přímo skrz lebku. Jako kořeny stromu, který roste obráceně.*
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>
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> *Bren se na vás podívá. Pak se podívá na to, na co se díváte vy. A v jeho očích uvidíte něco, co jste tam předtím neviděli: ne šílenství. Úlevu. Někdo konečně vidí jeho řetězy.*
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---
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## How to Save Bren
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### Option A: Kill Skein (Permanent, Difficult)
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Requires entering the Ethereal Plane and fighting Skein directly. The Deep Cellar contains **two [Faded Scrolls of Etherealness](../prints/faded-scroll-of-etherealness.md)**, one in the Workroom and one in the Vault: each takes an action to read, works for 1 minute and can be used by anyone who can read a written language. They provide enough time for a short confrontation without consuming the longer-lasting Oil of Etherealness. Oil remains an alternative if the scrolls are missed, destroyed or saved for Xarrul.
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**Complications:**
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- Skein uses Bren as a shield — threatening to kill the host (Suppress Host to make Bren harm himself) if attacked
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- In the Ethereal Plane near the tear in the Old Work, Skein has advantage on Stealth checks (home terrain)
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- If Skein drops below 10 HP, it tries to Flee — players must prevent this or it escapes and attaches to a new host eventually
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- Xarrul's presence makes the Ethereal Plane more dangerous — the fiend might interfere (it finds Skein amusing but not threatening)
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**If Skein is killed:**
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- Tendrils wither and dissolve
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- Bren screams, then goes silent
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- After 1 minute: he opens his eyes. They're clear. He looks around as if seeing the room for the first time.
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- His Wisdom recovers to 10 (not 16 — the damage is partially permanent)
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- He remembers everything: seven years of captivity, watching his own body be puppeted, feeling himself erode
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### Option B: Sever the Tendrils (Temporary)
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Requires entering the Ethereal Plane and making targeted attacks.
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- Each tendril: AC 13, 5 HP (must be attacked on the Ethereal Plane)
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- Severing all 6 tendrils frees Bren for 1d4 hours
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- During this time, Bren is lucid, coherent, and desperately helpful
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- He can provide testimony about the murder, information about the thin point, and his own background
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- When the tendrils regrow, Skein reasserts control — Bren knows this is coming and the window's closing
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- This option is useful if players need Bren's help for the endgame but can't afford a full fight with Skein yet
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### Option C: Protection from Evil and Good
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The spell suppresses Skein's control for the duration (10 minutes, concentration).
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- Bren becomes lucid while the spell is active
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- Skein thrashes in the Ethereal Plane, unable to reach through
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- When the spell ends, Skein reasserts control with a vengeance — Bren takes 5 (1d10) psychic damage
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- Repeating this method angers Skein and makes it more aggressive with the host
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### Option D: Silvervein Root (One Clear Moment)
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Crushing **1 sprig of silvervein root** beside Bren consumes the sprig and weakens Skein's grip for 1 round.
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- Bren can speak and act lucidly during that round
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- Skein cannot use Silence the Host or Suppress Host until the start of the next round
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- This does not damage the tendrils or prevent Skein from reasserting control afterward
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---
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## Bren's Testimony (When Lucid)
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If players free Bren temporarily or permanently, he provides:
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**About the murder:**
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"I saw it happen. Something came through — from the other side. Like smoke with hands. It reached through the air behind the bar and touched Orenn. He didn't even flinch. He just... stopped. The thing pulled back and it was *smiling*. I could feel it smiling."
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**About Skein:**
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"It found me seven years ago. I was studying the tear in the old chamber beneath this tavern. The thin point. I got too close. It latched on and it's been... eating me. My memories. My will. Every day there's a little less of me. I can feel the edges of myself going soft."
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**About Xarrul:**
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"The thing that killed Orenn is different from what's in me. Bigger. Older. Crueler. My — [he struggles to find a word for Skein] — my *passenger* is afraid of it. Deeply afraid. That's why I had those moments tonight — it was distracted, watching the fiend, and I could push through."
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**About the thin point:**
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"It's growing. The gap between worlds is wider than it was when I first studied it. Something — or someone — is pushing it open. The wards in the cellar were supposed to contain it, but they're failing. I could feel them cracking."
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---
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## Emotional Arc
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Bren's subplot is about witnessing suffering and choosing to act.
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**If players ignore Bren:** He remains in his corner, muttering. Skein is satisfied. Nothing changes. But players who saw the madman and did nothing might carry that.
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**If players help Bren partially (severed tendrils, temporary lucidity):** He gets a window. He helps. The window closes. He knows it's coming. His last lucid words before Skein retakes him: "Thank you. For seeing me. Even if it doesn't last — thank you."
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**If players kill Skein and free Bren permanently:** He's free. But he's not whole. Seven years of psychological torture don't vanish with the parasite. He'll need months of care, magical healing, and patience. He's grateful in a raw, shattered way — not the clean relief of a rescued prisoner, but the dazed confusion of someone who doesn't remember what freedom feels like.
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His first request, if freed: "Can I... can I have some water? I can't remember the last time I asked for something and meant it."
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