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| Original Weird Tales illustration by Hugh Rankin |
The Ritual
The ritual must be performed in an area suited to snakes and reptiles, such as a swamp, jungle, or desert. The operator drapes one or more snakes over their body and traces curves and spirals into the muck, dirt, or sand with a staff carved or painted to look like a snake. They hum or hiss along to an odd melody played on the flute and drums. Those with Anthropology know that a digital recording will be sufficient. It's the sounds and the effect they have on the operator's mind that is important rather than the instruments or act of playing them.
The Ritual Activation roll is at a -20% penalty if the operator has ever intentionally harmed a snake. It's only a -10% penalty for attacking Yig's spurned race, the Serpent Folk; none at all if they acted in self defense. Yig is a jealous god, so the activation roll suffers from another -20% penalty if the operator has already pledged themselves to a different Great Old One. The operator rolls with a +20% bonus if they involve a 'child of yig' in their ceremony (even if they killed it and kept the body, then it just cancels out the penalty). They can get another +20% bonus to the activation roll if they are under the effects of snake venom.
Yig may be one of the most ubiquitous Great Old Ones, even if only a small percentage of the serpentine gods and snake cults found throughout history bear any relation to him. Research with Anthropology and Occult can hint at the bonuses and penalties mentioned above.
SAN Loss Flavor
1-2
points: Prickling heat and the sense that you're being watched and judged.
3-4
points: The heat is unbearable, nauseating, you can feel a knife at your throat.
5+
points: The staff coils up the operator's arm and whispers into their ear before falling to the ground, lifeless. You flee to escape judgement, lash out at whoever's wronged you, or freeze, hypnotized by the undulating snakes and intricate patterns in the ground.
Boon
If the operator goes temporarily insane, Yig grants them two powers, otherwise they only get one. These gifts are selected at random or by the Handler.
Blessing
The operator can either pick their powers from the options below, or surrender their choice but gain an additional power.
An Eye for an Eye...
Yig is the father of serpents and a spirit of revenge. If the operator is hit, they can use that damage in place of their own on the next successful attack against their attacker1. This includes other effects like shock or poisoning. If this occurs in a clearly unnatural way, witnesses lose 0/1 SAN from unnatural. Attacking a different target means they lose the ‘stored’ damage.
Venomous Apotheosis
Snakes are immune to their own venoms; the operator is more than a snake. If a poison, venom, toxin, etc has an antidote, it’s rendered harmless if the operator succeeds on an INTx5 roll. If the test fails or there is no antidote, the Lethality rating and HP damage are halved.
Serpentine Kinship
The operator can talk to snakes with a successful activation roll and their bite inflicts a venom with a Lethality rating equal to their POW score and a speed of 1 hour (reduced by 10 minutes for each additional venomous bite). The operator can hold one dose of venom for every three points of CON. Once every 24 hours, the operator can rest in a safe place with proper food and water to regain one spent dose of venom. If they're uninjured, this is automatic. Otherwise, the operator has to succeed on the CON roll to recover hit points naturally.
Ecdysis
The operator gains the ability to activate a new innate ritual by curling up as they go to sleep and meditating on the ouroboros. The ritual costs 1D6 SAN and has the operator slowly wriggle out of their own skin overnight, emerging refreshed and free of injury or disease. This restores them to full HP and WP and may even end ongoing negative hypergeometric effects. If the operator chooses to spend a point of permanent POW or critically succeeds on the activation roll, all of their permanent injuries are healed. It costs 0/1D6 SAN from unnatural to watch the operator be reborn, but just 0/1 to find the discarded husk the next morning.
Curse
Reptiles will generally antagonize the operator. Additionally, Yig sends 1D4–1 of his children to strike them down each scenario. These are unusually large specimens of whatever snakes are local to the area, only with a white crescent on their heads. If the scenario takes multiple sessions, they might attack one at a time, or lie in wait and rush in at the most inconvenient time. Or they might not show up at all if the D4 rolls a one.
CHILD OF YIG – Purveyor of Vengeance
If the operator pays homage to another Great Old One2 after activating this ritual, they must roll POWx5 or be subject to the Curse of Yig. With a critical success, Yig understands that while the operator may prostrate themselves before other gods, they worship him above all others. They never have to roll POWx5 again to prove their loyalty. On a fumble, Yig not only curses the operator, but takes away the powers and gifts he granted them.
Side Effects
- The operator's skin turns dry and scaly, their canines and incisors grow sharp, their pupils narrow, and their tongue forks as the natural indent at its tip deepens.
- A striking white crescent appears on the operator's forehead. It only grows back bolder or in another place if they attempt to peel it off with a knife.
- If the operator crosses a Breaking Point, they are likely to develop Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Megalomania, Obsession (Revenge), or Paranoia as they grow more irritable and self-assured like Yig and his former 'chosen people.'
- Their body temperature and general energy level rise and fall with the ambient temperature of their surroundings.
- If viewed through the Voorish Sign or similar, hundreds of snakes can be seen, ghost-like, writhing under the operator's skin.
If you're confused as to what this is about, check out this post.
2 This obviously includes but is not limited to activating other Whispers of the Dead (Great Old One) rituals. It's up to the Handler's discretion for what else counts as "paying homage." ↩
Sometimes I wish I had the heart of a snake
ReplyDeleteWith no compassion comes no mistakes
To be a hunter without fear
Without mercy, my vision is clear