Archives of Nethys
Vile RemnantItem 7+
This Item may contain spoilers from the Bastion of Blasphemies Adventure Path
Rare Artifact Cursed Occult UnholySource Pathfinder #224: Bastion of Blasphemies pg. 236
Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L
When dislodged, mortal fragments like a chewed fingernail, a careless sneeze, or a few strands of hair might fall to the soil and be swiftly forgotten. When a horror like Charg brushes close to reality, the vile remnants cast off from his nightmare form are not so harmless. At other times, the desecrated remains of innocent creatures can be transformed into vile remnants as well. Worshippers of unholy gods and followers of evil philosophies gather these things and covet them as one might the hem of a cloak brushed against an idolized hero, or the visage of a divinity made manifest in a patch of mold on a wall. Vile remnants spread fear and cruelty wherever they’re hidden and can corrupt those who discover them. They might be buried in the soil of a farmer’s field, dropped into the depths of a village well, or stashed at the bottom of a toy box. Wherever the innocent might stumble across them and become unknowing actors in the decay of morality, the vile remnant works its unholy magic. A vile remnant appears as a raw, decaying mass of flesh, fur, and gristle—a teratoma consisting of warty skin, sightless eyes, a finger or a toe, tufts of bristly hair, or teeth without mouths or lips to hide them. Each vile remnant’s shape is wildly different and uniquely unsettling. A vile remnant automatically imparts to a PC the knowledge of how to use its Hear My Words activation as soon as it’s touched, but its other activations must be discovered normally through the use of Identify Magic (and as normal, identifying the presence and effect of the curse it carries requires a critical success at such an attempt). Unlike most cursed items, a character can discard a vile remnant, yet doing so runs a real risk that it might thereafter fall into the wrong hands. In this Adventure Path, any vile remnant the PCs discard anywhere other than the restored reliquary in the Maiserene Church at area A9 is discovered by one of the monsters of Bastardhall, who then Hides the horror somewhere in the region where it was found. Where the horror is hidden is left to you to decide. As long as a creature carries a vile remnant, its thoughts and dreams are influenced by cruel notions and temptations to commit violent depravities. A creature that’s already predisposed toward these acts derives greater pleasure than before for such atrocities but receives no additional penalty or benefit, while a non-sapient creature is driven to become unnaturally violent in its actions (and over the course of weeks, becomes visibly corrupted by patches of strange fur, warty growths, unsightly teeth, or similar teratomas on its body). A sapient creature that isn’t predisposed toward acts of depravity (likely including all PCs) takes an item penalty equal to the number of vile remnants they carry to saving throws against all magical effects that attempt to encourage such acts. Saving throws against spells like suggestion or charm cast by creatures who attempt to push a PC into such acts, any affect by such creatures that attempts to control a PC, or certain specific effects mentioned in the text of this adventure would all be affected by this penalty. A creature with the holy trait reduces the overall item penalty imparted by this curse by 1, to a minimum penalty of 0. A creature that’s foolish enough to consume a vile remnant becomes fused to its curse, at which point the vile remnant remains lodged within the creature’s body until the curse is removed from the creature with a cleanse affliction spell or similar magic, or upon the creature’s death, whichever comes first. At this point, the vile remnant crawls or oozes its way out of the creature’s body and flops, once again inanimate, onto the ground, where it waits to be claimed by a new carrier. As long as you carry a vile remnant somewhere on your person, its curse does have a beneficial side: The power of its influence grants you a +1 item bonus to all saving throws against curses from other sources, as the vile remnant jealously wards against such encroachments on its territory. Unlike the item penalty, carrying multiple vile remnants does not increase this item bonus. The base version of a vile remnant appears to be lifeless, but the whispering remnant periodically twitches and pulses as if it were alive.
Activate—Become As One 1 minute (concentrate, manipulate); Effect By piling eight vile remnants in a heap and then concentrating upon the mound of cursed flesh for a minute, you cause the eight vile remnants to slither together and become a single whispering remnant. Once combined in this manner, the resulting whispering remnant cannot be thereafter split into individual vile remnants.
Activate—Hear My Words [two-actions] (concentrate, manipulate); Frequency once per day; Effect The vile remnant casts a DC 23 enthrall spell to your specifications. Creatures that fail or critically fail to resist this spell perceive and remember the vile remnant in your hand as something commonplace to the region, such as a farming tool, book, or fresh-baked pie, for as long as they remain enthralled. If you don’t take advantage of this to subtly guide any affected creatures toward undermining their society, the vile remnant can’t be activated to Hear My Words again by you for 1 week. Additionally, the next time you sleep, you endure horrific nightmares and must succeed at a DC 23 Will save upon waking to avoid becoming stupefied 1 for 24 hours (this is a mental effect).
Activate—Hide the Horror 10 minutes (manipulate); Frequency once per year; Effect You hide the vile remnant somewhere that, in time, it is likely to be found. For the following four weeks, the vile remnant’s evil seeps into the surrounding landscape, expanding its influence at a rate of 200 feet per day until it reaches its maximum emanation of 5,600 feet after 28 days. It continues to influence this area for another three weeks before going dormant— it must be recovered and rehidden later once this activation recharges to begin the cycle again. While the remnant’s influence is active, any sapient creature that sleeps in the area experiences unsettling dreams of being stalked by monsters they can never quite see or evade. A creature that doesn’t worship an unholy deity who experiences these dreams must succeed at a DC 23 Will save each time they rest to avoid awakening fatigued. On a critical failure, the creature awakens stupefied 1 as well; this condition remains until removed or until they are no longer fatigued, whichever comes first. Creatures who worship an unholy deity or follow a despicable philosophy are immune to this effect. Any skill checks made by such creatures when performing rituals performed in the affected area gain a +1 item bonus, and nightmare spells cast by them within the region have their save DCs increased by 1.
Destruction A vile remnant can’t be destroyed, but a whispering remnant can be by hurling it into a powerful curse effect created by the deity associated with the remnant. This causes the whispering remnant to become reabsorbed into the deity’s otherworldly body and often has potent side effects on the surrounding region. Disposing of a whispering remnant in the soul vortex of Bastardhall (area
I) after Caydserris has been defeated not only destroys the whispering remnant but helps bring the Bastardhall Curse to an end.
Vile RemnantItem 7
Source Pathfinder #224: Bastion of Blasphemies pg. 238Bulk L
Whispering RemnantItem 13
Source Pathfinder #224: Bastion of Blasphemies pg. 238Bulk L
A whispering remnant’s Hide the Horror aura expands at a rate of 500 feet per day for 28 days, and the DC’s for its Hear My Words and Hide the Horror activations increase to 30. It imparts a -9 item penalty to all saving throws against deplorable influences and a +3 item bonus to all saving throws against curses as long as it’s carried. Whispering remnants are incredibly rare, and their use is required in many vile rites, such as the one that brought down the curse on Castle Arudora. A whispering remnant gains the following additional activation.
Activate—Heed My Whispers [two-actions] (concentrate, manipulate); Frequency once per day; Effect The whispering remnant casts a DC 30 subconscious suggestion spell to your specifications. If the target of the spell fails or critically fails to save against this, they perceive and remember the whispering remnant as being a commonplace item. If you don’t suggest a course of action to the target that causes them to work at undermining their society, the whispering remnant shrieks horribly, but only in your mind—you take 10d6 mental damage (DC 30 basic Will save), after which the whispering remnant cannot be activated again by you for 1 week.
Shelyn's Corner
×Classic Feel
Classic Feel
Classic Feel
The classic look for the Archives of Nethys.
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Book Feel
Book Feel
Book Feel
An alternative feel, based on the Rulebooks.
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Round Feel
Round Feel
Round Feel
A rounded, modern look for the archives.
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Slim Feel
Slim Feel
Slim Feel
A variant of the Round feel, more compact.
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