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Breach to the Quickening

Source Horror Realms pg. 60
CR 12; XP 19,200
CN persistent variant haunt (30-ft. radius)
Caster Level 12th
Notice Perception DC 20 (to notice nearby plant and animal life beginning to twist and deform)
hp 54; Weakness negative energy (immune to positive energy); Trigger proximity; Reset 1d20 days
Effect Colorful light and raw chaotic energy lash out in a dizzying display. All living creatures become the target of a random quickening effect (see table on page 61; DC 21 Fortitude saving throw negates). A creature that remains in the breach’s area of effect must attempt an additional saving throw each round against a new random effect.

Overcharge Each affected target rolls twice on the quickening effect table if they fail to resist this haunt's effects.

Quickening Effects

d%Effect
1-25The target transforms into a Tiny animal that is not native to the local region (as per baleful polymorph). As typical for baleful polymorph, a creature that fails the initial Fortitude saving throw must succeed at a secondary Will saving throw or lose significant mental abilities.
26-40The target gains a random mutation from the mutant creature template, with the exception of radiation affinity. Roll 1d20 to select the mutation.
41-75The target gains a random deformity from the mutant creature template. Roll 1d12 to select the specific deformity.
76-95The First World lashes out at the target vindictively, bestowing the accursed corruption (Pathfinder RPG Horror Adventures).
96-99The target gains a new form. This effect functions as per reincarnate, with a few exceptions. It takes full effect when the breach triggers, rather than taking 1 hour to activate. Additionally, it works only on living creatures, it does not impose any negative levels, and it does not cause a spellcaster to lose spells. Restoring the target to its original form requires a miracle or wish spell.
100The target gains the fey creature template, and its alignment changes to chaotic neutral. Restoring the target’s original form requires a miracle or wish spell.

Destruction Breaches to the Quickening spontaneously close or move on their own as unpredictably as they appear. A forbiddance or dimensional lock cast on the area of a breach prevents the breach from exerting influence on the Material Plane until it moves to a different location. A wish or miracle spell permanently closes a breach.

Description

The Quickening is the most chaotic portion of the First World, a region so unstable that most of the denizens of the First World give it a wide berth. Even a brief journey into the Quickening is enough to transform body and mind in unforeseeable ways. Connections between the Quickening and the Material Plane are rare and fleeting, but their effects persist.

Echoes of the First World


The boundless and ever-shifting First World is home to fey and all manner of strange, otherworldly creatures caught in a constant flux of life-giving energies. Ancient beyond measure, the realm is a vibrant “first draft of reality,” according to legend. It shares its place in existence with the Material Plane, and in some places, the boundary between the two planes wears thin. The Material Plane’s influence on the First World manifests as regions of stubborn stability that the First World’s denizens regard with disgust. On the Material Plane, the fey realm’s pull erodes the laws of time and space and transforms reality in its wake.

Unlike a typical haunt, an echo of the First World is healed by positive energy. In fact, when these manifestations interact with positive energy, they typically become stronger. When an echo of the First World is healed beyond its normal maximum hit points, any excess hit points persist for 1 minute as temporary hit points. As long as it has any temporary hit points, it gains the effects listed in the overcharge section of its stat block.

While positive energy is a boon for these unusual haunts, negative energy damages them as if they were living creatures. Damaging spells with the death descriptor also harm them. Echoes of the First World are almost always chaotic neutral.