Cyth-V'sug

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Cyth-V'sug
The demonic rune of Cyth V'sug
(Déité)
Titres	Prince of the Blasted Heath, Demon Lord of Fungus and Parasites Lord of Filth and Pollution
Adjectif	Cith-V'sugian
Home	The Jeharlu, Abyss
Alignement	Chaotic evil
Portfolio	Disease Fungus Parasites
Adorateurs	Alchemists, black dragons, derros, drow, ex-druids, polluters, evil vegepygmies
Cleric Alignments	Modèle:Alignment grid
Domaines	Chaos, Earth, Evil, Plant
Sous domaines	Caves, Decay, Demon, Growth, Plague
Arme de prédiléction	Scimitar

Prince of the Blasted Heath

Long before mortals began to walk the Material Plane, long before even demons wandered the foul landscapes of the Abyss, the qlippoth held dominion over large sections of the Outer Sphere. One of the greatest of these squirming entities of evil and entropy, the qlippoth lord Oaur-Ooung, floated through a great, fetid sea within the expanse of the Abyss. Her pale, fungoid tentacles stretched for miles, thirsting for sustenance, filtering the quintessence of the multiverse and turning it into nourishment for the many spawn she grew within her countless, undulating blisterwombs. Cyth-V’sug, a twisted amalgam of mushrooms, fungus, and rotting plants, burst forth from one of these pulsating sacs, fully formed and hungry for rot, desecration, and decay. Insatiable and relentless, he quickly rose to become a qlippoth lord in his own right, rivaling the twisted mother from whose flesh he arose.

Eventually, mortal life and all of its associated sins came to be. And as those sinning souls passed into the afterlife, the Abyss transformed some of them into demons. The realm created legions of demons, thanks to the fertility of mortals and their boundless potential for cruelty. The belligerent demons clashed with the qlippoth for control over the plane, and though they were younger, the demons had the advantage of numbers. They triumphed again and again, and in doing so, increased their strength, some becoming demon lords to rival the most powerful of the qlippoth.

Cyth-V’sug wanted no part in this endless war, and so stayed within his realm. He slew those demons that attempted to invade his sanctuary, but the constant onslaught soon began to wear him down. After careful observation, he realized that his more potent foes were worshiped by self-destructive mortals. He sent tendrils of his consciousness onto the Material Plane and found desperate creatures that longed for someone (or something) to answer their prayers. He heard these monsters’ pleas and responded to them. However, while this succeeded in helping to increase his strength, Cyth-V’sug was still ultimately forced deep into the Abyss’s deepest, most remote areas with the other qlippoth.

As Cyth-V’sug lurked in these dark domains, he continued to hear the entreaties of his worshipers. They constantly wanted more—more divine gifts, more responses from their deity. This greed had a strange effect on the qlippoth lord: he began to experience this mortal emotion himself. In particular, he wanted his original home back, and then some. He wanted to taste more demon blood. He wanted vengeance for being driven out. In time, the other qlippoth lords—Oaur- Ooung in particular—noticed this change and were not pleased. They threatened Cyth-V’sug with destruction, forcing him to flee to the upper reaches of the Abyss.

Cyth-V’sug soon realized that he had become like the very demons he hated, but this revelation did nothing to quell his expanding hunger. He continued to demand sacrifices from his followers, and in doing so, he slowly transformed into a full demon lord. Though he is now one of their kind, his hatred for demons burns no less hot. His ultimate goal is to consume those worlds of the Material Plane that contain mortal life, thereby cutting off demons from their source of souls and allowing the qlippoth to return from exile. That this plan will also result in his own destruction does not matter to Cyth- V’sug. For him, at least, it will mean his appetite will finally be sated.

PERSONIFICATION AND REALM

Cyth-V sug avatar

Though his form is somewhat malleable, Cyth-V’sug is most often depicted as a massive, draconic creature made of a snarled collection of tentacles tipped with razor-sharp claws, elongated fungal growths, and rotting vines. A pair of puffball mushrooms serves as his eyes, and his maw contains a riot of pointy, uneven fangs. The few who have encountered the demon lord and lived to tell the tale report that when Cyth-V’sug speaks, his voice sounds like that of a mortal creature wetly choking to death on a swollen and distended tongue. They also note the foul stench that constantly surrounds him, an almost palpable aura of decay. Befitting this form, Cyth-V’sug’s holy symbol is a moldy, spiraling tentacle, and his favored animal is a centipede.

The Prince of the Blasted Heath’s realm is unusual in that it is a living thing. Called the Jeharlu, this quivering, planet-sized mass of fungal matter lies at the center of an immense cavern in the Abyss, held aloft by ropy white strands attached to the distant stone. The Jeharlu is able to extend probing tendrils into other planes in order to lap up the waste left behind when Cyth-V’sug and his cultists completely infest and consume a world. In this way, the Jeharlu grows ever larger, and sane scholars fear the possibility of the giant fungus becoming too large to fit within its Abyssal cave, even if that eventuality occurs in the far distant future.

DOGMA AND WORSHIPERS

Cyth-V’sug cares only to pollute and mortify all that exists, turning mortal worlds into foul slurries that he can feast on from his Abyssal realm. His hunger is insatiable, however, and once he is done with one place, he sets his eyes on another. The entire process is slow, sometimes taking millennia, but the demon lord has the utmost patience.

On the surface of a world (such as Golarion), Cyth- V’sug’s worshipers tend to be recluses, often driven by a touch of madness to strive toward the destruction of their homes. These people have usually been hurt by society or believe they have been wronged, and are seeking to remedy the injustice. In addition, the occasional black

dragon venerates the Prince of the Blasted Heath to discover forbidden lore about diseases and fungi. The frigid Worldwound marshland known as Frostmire Fen is home to a Cyth-V’sug cult of evil plant creatures called fungus queens, led by the cleric Enivuni, one of the first of their kind.

The worship of Cyth-V’sug is slightly more common within the Darklands, where the drow of House Urdrinor grow mushrooms infused with the power of their demonic patron in various fungus gardens for the citizens of Zirnakaynin. There are also a few instances of derros, looking for inspiration for their terrible cytillesh-fueled experiments, turning to veneration of the demon lord to augment the strange fungi that gives the derro their racial madness in the first place. Occasionally, Cyth-V’sug grants divine gifts to vegepygmy shamans who want their tribes to multiply and conquer more and more underground areas.

TEMPLES AND SHRINES

As he wants to consume the world, Cyth-V’sug doesn’t require his followers to build grand structures in his name—new construction and mortal-made edifices are antithesis to the Prince of the Blasted Heath. Even House Urdrinor, which could arguably contain the highest concentration of worshipers of the demon lord, hasn’t constructed a temple. His faithful usually pay him homage at small shrines that could easily be mistaken for something found within a sickly forest: a stump covered with dripping fungus, a rotting log infested with grubs, or a pile of moldering compost with a fetid odor. Worshipers see these altars as two-way connections to their deity, placing offerings of soil or decaying flesh to sustain the living parts of the shrine and Cyth-V’sug allowing strange growths to develop there for worshipers to eat or use in foul concoctions.

A PRIEST’S ROLE

Cyth-V sug pretre

Most priests of Cyth-V’sug are often not recognizable as such. They don’t have a similar look or wear a common type of vestment. They hide their unholy symbols under loose, filthy wrappings, which might also conceal obvious signs of disease or parasitic infestation. To many, they can appear to be unkempt beggars or unfortunate transients. In general, a priest will cultivate that image in order to spread her god’s pollution.

The drow priests and sacred mushroom tenders of House Urdrinor tell a different story. They are much more respected, as their knowledge of fungi affords them an important position in the chain of commerce with other drow houses. These clerics are typically women and wear finely tailored robes emblazoned with Cyth- V’sug’s unholy icon. Any diseases they contract during their duties are considered to be signs of the demon lord’s favor and are celebrated—to a certain degree.

Drow understandably don’t wish to be wiped out by a plague, so they keep these illnesses under control with politic quarantining, where the infected are given every luxury until their health returns.

Priests of Cyth-V’sug are usually clerics, druids, or oracles with the wood mystery. The occasional alchemist or witch also venerates the Prince of the Blasted Heath. Inquisitors and warpriests are usually more direct in their actions than Cyth-V’sug would prefer, but he ultimately doesn’t care who worships him. The majority of his priests are skilled in Knowledge (nature) and Survival, and they typically have several ranks in Heal— not to be able to treat diseases, but to able to diagnose and help them flourish.

HOLIDAYS

Nothing about the faith of Cyth-V’sug is held to be particularly holy, but some fanatic worshipers ascribe special significance to the ends of their lives—so long as it comes at the hand of their patron’s befouling power.

Virulence: Unsurprisingly, many of Cyth-V’sug’s cultists are riddled with diseases and infested with parasites, often intentionally. These unfortunate souls are aware of their illnesses and have a kind of sixth sense as to when they will finally succumb to them. When that time draws near, these infected beings seek to spread their ailments to as many as possible in a profane sacrament called Virulence. Some simply wander into a crowded city and attempt to touch or cough on anyone who comes near. Others make sure they expire within a town’s source of water, infecting the citizens in that fashion. Several epidemics throughout history can be traced back to a worshiper of Cyth-V’sug performing this death rite.

APHORISMS

Though many of Cyth-V’sug’s worshipers are hermetic druids or lone lunatics, the occasional organized cult— especially among drow—uses the following aphorisms among its members.

Fester and Spread: A common benediction spoken by the faithful as they part ways, this phrase emphasizes that the filth of Cyth-V’sug must continue to be spread in order for him to consume the world. It also acts as a description of how some worshipers should conduct themselves—lurk just under the surface and proliferate in secret.

The Infection Cannot Remain Hidden: These cautionary words remind those devoted who hide their twisted worship that inward signs of rot will always eventually show on the surface. Of course, such decay is Cyth-V’sug’s ultimate goal, but as many societies prefer life to destruction, the demon lord’s worshipers usually need to keep their faith hidden until the deterioration can’t be stopped.

HOLY TEXT

Much like his realm, a true copy of Cyth-V’sug’s holy text—known as The Excresence—is a living thing, a massive fungal parasite that constantly whispers the demon lord’s dogma in a thin, weedy voice. To cultivate a “copy” of this sentient tome, a member of Cyth- V’sug’s faith must smear a foul concoction of filth and chemicals—the demon lord grants the exact recipe only to those he considers most worthy—into an open wound on her body. Once her wound becomes infected, the worshiper struggles to keep herself alive without curing the sickness, all while the fungus grows, eventually to the size of a cat. At that point, the whisperings begin, and the worshiper can safely remove the parasite if she wishes, though if she does, she must find another (often unwilling) host to keep the book alive. Many followers choose to keep their copies of The Excresence on their bodies, usually hidden from public view and muffled so as not to betray their presence.

No one is sure whether or not each version of The Excresence is an individual entity or a fragment of some larger sentience. Nevertheless, each speaks with the same voice, and if two copies are ever brought into close proximity, they begin intoning in a creepy, harmonic unity. At some point long ago, an enterprising cultist who gained access to one of these living tomes spent hours upon hours listening to its murmurs, copying it all down onto actual paper. Copies of this transcription have circulated among Cyth-V’sug’s worshipers ever since, but due to the demon lord’s influence, the pages molder and rot far quicker than they should. As such, these copies are imperfect, and none but those who accept the Prince of the Blasted Heath’s fungal blessing have access to all the wisdom The Excresence has to offer.

RELATIONS WITH OTHER RELIGIONS

Most worshipers of Cyth-V’sug have little to do with members of other religions. Those who venerate other demon lords wish to sow mayhem and destruction through other means, so there is actually little common ground between them. The faithful of the Prince of the Blasted Heath sometimes team up with the worshipers of Ghlaunder or Urgathoa to spread disease and infection, but such alliances rarely last long. Precisely because they share similar goals for different masters, cultists of Cyth- V’sug try to kill those who worship the Great Old One Xhamen-Dor as soon as they recognize them, and vice versa. This animosity extends to worshipers of other demon lords, as Cyth-V’sug despises them.

The nascent demon lord Treerazer, scourge of Tanglebriar in Kyonin, was spawned in the Abyss, possibly by Cyth-V’sug. Even if Treerazer isn’t the Prince of the Blasted Heath’s offspring, he served the demon lord until his ascension, after which the demonic,

winged dinosaur grew too ambitious and attempted to usurp his master’s power. Cyth-V’sug banished Treerazer to Golarion for his audacity sometime during the Age of Darkness, but that has remained the extent of the nascent demon lord’s punishment; it seems as though Cyth-V’sug either forgives or no longer cares about Treerazer. However, Cyth-V’sug’s worshipers sometimes come into conflict with the small elven cabals that venerate Treerazer, as if avenging some perceived slight on behalf of their god. To date, no such conflict has escalated into more than a mildly violent rivalry that lasts but a generation or two, though the potential for a full-scale war between the faiths ever looms on the horizon.

SPELLCASTING

Clerics of Cyth-V’sug can cast absorb toxicityUC as a 4th-level spell and withdraw afflictionOA as a 6th-level spell. In addition, worshipers of the Prince of the Blasted Heath have access to the following spells.

FUNGAL BLISTERS

School transmutation;

Level alchemist 2, druid 2, sorcerer/ wizard 2, witch 2

Casting Time 1 standard action

Components V, S

Range personal

Target you

Duration 1 minute/level or until discharged (see text)

When you cast this spell, horrible, fungal growths sprout forth all over your body. You develop 1d2+1 of these blisters per 2 caster levels. Each time you are dealt more than 5 points of bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage from a single attack, one of these blisters bursts, releasing a cloud of harmful spores in a 5-foot-radius burst centered on you. These spores enter the lungs of all living creatures within the cloud that need to breathe and deal 1d6+1 points of damage for every 2 caster levels you have (Fortitude negates). This is a disease effect, and you and plants aren’t affected by the spores. It is possible for more than one blister to burst in a single round. If you are reduced to 0 or fewer hit points, all remaining blisters burst, and the resulting spores deal the cumulative amount of damage.

You are not able to cast this spell while wearing heavy armor. If you don heavy armor during the spell’s duration, all remaining blisters burst as if you had been reduced to 0 or fewer hit points.

SEBACEOUS TWIN

School transmutation;

Level cleric 3, druid 3, sorcerer/ wizard 3, witch 3

Casting Time 1 standard action

Components V, S

Range touch

Target living creature touched

Duration 1 round/level (see text)

Saving Throw none (see text);

Spell Resistance yes 

By touching a living target, you cause a half-formed, parasitic clone of the target to burst from its midsection. The twin dangles from the target’s body, making it difficult for the target to move easily and imparting a –2 penalty on Acrobatics and Climb checks. In addition, for the spell’s duration, the target must succeed at a Fortitude saving throw at the start of its turn each round, or else it takes 1 point of Constitution damage and is sickened for that round as the twin siphons off its blood. Each time the target receives any healing (magical or otherwise), the duration of this spell is extended by 1 round. Each attack that deals damage to the target reduces the duration of this spell by 1 round. If the duration reaches 0 rounds in this

manner, the twin is violently excised from the body, and the target takes 1d6 points of bleed damage (which can be healed as normal).

The effect of sebaceous twin counts as a disease effect with a DC equal to the spell’s saving throw DC.

OBEDIENCE

The following describes the daily rite Cyth-V’sug’s followers must perform to take full advantage of the Deific Obedience feat, as well as the boons for the prestige classes found in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Gods.

OBEDIENCE (CYTH-V’SUG)

Eat moldering flesh rife with parasitic worms and drink putrid alcohol distilled from strange fungi during a 1-hour feast. You gain a +4 profane bonus on saving throws against diseases and effects that cause the nauseated condition.

EVANGELIST BOONS

1: Contamination (Sp) ray of sickeningUM 3/day, pox pustulesAPG 2/day, or fungal infestationUM 1/day

2: Cloud of Toxicity (Su) As a standard action, you can exhale a 20-foot cone of a disgusting miasma that exacerbates disease. Any diseased creature in the cone must succeed at a Fortitude saving throw (DC = 10 + half your total Hit Dice + your Charisma modifier) or immediately take damage as though it had failed its Fortitude save against its disease, and any remaining onset time for the disease ends. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to your Charisma modifier.

3: Ravaging Harm (Su) Three times per day with a successful touch attack, you can weaken a living creature’s immune system unless the target succeeds at a Fortitude saving throw (DC = 10 + half your total Hit Dice + your Charisma modifier). For the next 24 hours when a creature that failed its save takes ability damage, 1 point of that damage becomes permanent ability drain instead. This is a curse effect, and can be removed with a remove curse spell (treat your total Hit Dice as the caster level).

EXALTED BOONS

1: Sickness Within (Sp) ray of enfeeblement 3/day, warp wood 2/day, or contagion 1/day

2: Parasitic Link (Su) Once per day with a successful touch attack, you can infest a living creature with tiny worms and gnawing mites unless the target succeeds at a Fortitude save (DC = 10 + half your total Hit Dice + your Constitution modifier). These parasites retain an unholy link to you, draining the target creature’s energy and transferring it to you. This infestation persists for 10 rounds, during which you act as if under the effects of a haste spell and the infested victim is staggered. As a swift action, you can quicken the parasitic infestation— this reduces the remaining duration by 1 round, but causes the parasites to feed at an accelerated rate, dealing 1d2 points of Constitution damage to the target. You can maintain a parasitic link with one creature at a time. These parasites count as a disease effect.

3: Fungal Ruin (Sp) Once per day, you can target a creature with a destruction spell. A creature slain by this effect crumbles into a mound of russet mold (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 273) that immediately releases a cloud of spores in a 20-foot-radius burst. This ability functions as a 9th-level spell.

SENTINEL BOONS

1: Deadly Nature (Sp) thorn javelinACG 3/day, sickening entanglementACG 2/day, or command plants 1/day

2: Vicious Thorns (Su) As a standard action, you can cause the ground in a 5-foot-radius burst centered on you to sprout twisting, thorny vines. Any creature moving through the area must travel at half speed or take bleed damage equal to half your character level; if you activate this ability in an area with numerous plants (grass, weeds, trees, etc.), the area also becomes difficult terrain. These effects last for 1 minute, after which the vines crumble to dust. Creatures able to move through natural undergrowth unhindered ignore the effects of this ability. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier.

3: Shambling Form (Su) Once per day as a move action, you can assume the form of a Huge shambling mound. You gain a +8 size bonus to Strength, a –2 penalty to Dexterity, a +4 size bonus to Constitution, and a +6 natural armor bonus. You gain darkvision out to 60 feet and two slam attacks that each deal 2d8 points of damage plus your Strength modifier and have the grab special attack. You also gain the constrict special attack. You gain fire resistance 20 and electricity resistance 20. In addition, if you are struck with an attack that deals an amount of electricity damage less than your resistance, you gain temporary hit points equal to your level. You lose these temporary hit points after 1 hour. You return to your true form after 10 minutes or when you take a free action to dismiss this ability, whichever comes first.

CUSTOMIZED SUMMON LIST

Cyth-V’sug’s priests can use summon monster spells to summon the following creatures in addition to the normal creatures listed in the spell.

Summon Monster IV

Mandragora (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 185)

Summon Monster V

Tendriculos (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 259)