VIII Great Old Ones and Outer Gods Knowledge (religion) check is required to perform this ceremony successfully Stage 3: At this stage, a blood sacrifice requires a minimum of ten fully-sentient victims of human size or at least 100 warm-blooded creatures of equal or larger size A DC 42 Knowledge (religion) or Profession (Yog-Sothothery philosopher) check is required to perform this ceremony successfully, as well as a DC 50 Diplomacy check to convince Shub-Niggurath to be satisfied At the GM’s discretion, instead of a Diplomacy check, a specific quest or action may be required to convince her Combat At influence stage or lower, Shub-Niggurath’s influence can be disrupted via damage inflicted to the nucleus, but defeating the nucleus only renders her influence dormant (while dormant, her influence has no active effects) Any cultist of Shub-Niggurath can reactivate her influence by performing the proper rituals Every month that passes without such a ritual, there’s a 20% chance her influence fades entirely Ritual Disruption At influence stage or 2, ShubNiggurath’s influence can be disrupted by defeating all active cultists in the area as well as destroying the altar that serves as the influence’s proxy (this altar can be anything from a tangle of wooden fetishes to a stone block to a solid metal plinth, so its hardness and hit points can vary widely) Doing so does not remove her influence, but merely makes the influence dormant (while dormant, her influence has no active effects) Any cultist of Shub-Niggurath can reactivate her influence by performing the proper rituals Every month that passes without such a ritual, there’s a 20% chance her influence fades entirely Fertility All worshipers of Shub-Niggurath in the area of influence function as if they had the advanced creature template (creatures that already possess this simple template apply the effects twice) Those who not worship Shub-Niggurath are beset with distracting feelings of lustfulness or criminal activity and suffer a –2 penalty on all saving throws against fear or mindaffecting effects Manifestation Shub-Niggurath’s manifestation varies according to the strength of her influence The effects of her manifestation across stages of influence are cumulative Stage 1: The manifestation is nothing more than a five-foot-wide yawning mouth or other orifice that appears mistily over the altar at the center of the influenced area Cultists and minions of Shub-Niggurath within sight of this manifestation gain a +2 morale bonus on all saving throws and attack rolls INFLUENCE EFFEC TS Devastation Shub-Niggurath’s numerous hooves, tentacles, maws, and other organs wreak devastation on all foes within a 900-foot radius of her nucleus at stage 3, or within a 1-mile radius at stage When a creature begins its turn in this area, or as soon as a creature enters this area during its turn, it takes 30d10 points of bludgeoning and slashing damage (or 40d10 at stage 4) unless it makes a successful Reflex saving throw, in which case the damage is halved A creature that takes this damage must also make a successful Fortitude save to avoid taking 2d6 points of Constitution drain as Shub-Niggurath feeds on its flesh A creature that is slain by this damage or Constitution drain immediately bursts open and spawns a fullygrown dark young of Shub-Niggurath Creatures slain in this way can only be restored to life via miracle, true resurrection, or wish 275