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Art by Nottsuo, source |
The Troupe
Wandering around the Known World, particularly Darokin, Karameikos, Ierendi and Thyatis, there is a troupe of theatrical performers dressed in predominantly yellow costumes who call themselves the Troupe in Yellow. Although they are capable of a wide repertoire of performances, they do have one special performance, a play called The King in Yellow, that they only put on before they leave town. Those who watch the play are never the same again, and the Troupe in Yellow will pack up and leave before the authorities realise what has happened.
The play is not just a performance - it is an incantation that places a most malevolent charm on those who watch it. Those of Lawful and Neutral alignment will suffer terrible fears and nightmares and will often go mad (save vs Spells to avoid insanity). Those of Chaotic alignment wil become fascinated, obssessed even, with the play, its characters and its meaning. They want to know more about the King in Yellow and get to know him, even serve him if they can (save vs spells, but this time to avoid a compulsion similar to a Geas spell). Thus the seeds of a cult of Chaos are planted every time the Troupe in Yellow performs this fiendish play.
The Troupe in Yellow is currently 20 strong, with 5 performers and various followers assisting behind the scenes (what would today be called road crew). They travel in five caravans drawn by horses of bad temperment - the villagers who are visited quickly learn to leave the horses alone. The senior members are:
- Valderion: human male, 14th level cleric, align Chaotic
Str 10, Int 16, Wis 17, Dex 10, Con 14, Cha 16
Valderion is tall, handsome, mysterious and clearly the leader of the troupe. Though usually dead calm, there are moments when provoked when he turns into a raging maniac. - Camilla: human female, 11th level cleric, align Chaotic
Str 11, Int 14, Wis 18, Dex 12, Con 10, Cha 17
Camilla is Valderion's consort and also the chief scribe: when not performing or practicing, she is carefully making copies of the book to pass onto willing disciples. She genuinely believes she is actually the reincarnation of the character she plays. - Cassilda: human female, 10th level fighter, align Chaotic
Str 16, Int 14, Wis 12, Dex 15, Con 14, Cha 15
Cassilda is young, blonde and apparently naive, but is actually a master manipulator and deceiver, as well as being lethal in a sword fight. - Castaigne: human male, 12th level mage, align Chaotic
Str 12, Int 16, Wis 12, Dex 10, Con 15, Cha 14
Castaigne is Valderion's understudy and personal assistant. He has various strange delusions that he usually keeps hidden from even the other performers, but he believes he is next in line to the Empire of Thyatis. - Mr Wilde: Male Gnome, 8th level Trickster, align Chaotic
Str 10, Int 18, Wis 14, Dex 16, Con 13, Cha 6
An ugly and malformed gnome, Mr Wilde is in charge of the road crew. He keeps an angry black cat that seems to attack everyone (including Mr Wilde).
These senior members all act their parts on stage, and during the final performance of their stay it is Valderion who takes the role of the King in Yellow and thus is key to the malevolent sorcery that the performance conjures. The crew behind the stage are all capable at handling themselves (all minimum of 4th level, various character classes and races) and are all willing followers of the King in Yellow.
The Troupe has attracted the attention of the authorities as survivors of their visits sane enough to give coherent accounts have been able to alert others of the troupe and what it is capable of. The troupe and its play is now outlawed in Karameikos, Thyatis and Ylaruam but communicating the warnings and descriptions is not easy. Thus the troupe will avoid the large cities where they may be recognised and caught and instead stick to rural areas and small villages where ignorance and isolation allows them to move freely.
The Book of the King in Yellow
Nobody is entirely sure where the book of the King in Yellow came from or when or by whom it was written. Some say it was created by a Prince of Chaos, while others of more erudite learning say it may have come from the far north in Norwold, perhaps from the Arvorians who are twisted enough that they would enjoy that sort of play. Although the book and the play do not specifically describe or promote the worship of Chaos, it still reeks of corruption and horror. The book is as outlawed as the Troupe in Yellow
Valderion, the leader of the troupe, holds the master original of the book. This contains the play script itself as well as various essays on the background to the play. It is possible to create copies in a similar method to how mages can copy spells from one spellbook into another. It is laborious and prone to error but it has been done enough times that the troupe has sometimes given a copy to enthusiastic converts to the court of the King in Yellow. There is known to be a copy in the hands of a powerful mage in Hattias, southern Thyatis and another was believed to have travelled to Vlaad in Ierendi. An individual who reads the book will suffer the same consequences as those who have watched the Troupe in Yellow perform the play, thus even copies of the damned book will cause madness and obsession. Those who try to perform the play from a copy will be far less effective than the Troupe in Yellow but some of the dweomer can still be conjured - all the audience still suffer the same effects but with +4 bonus to their saving throws to avoid the madness and compulsion.
In the back of the book are a series of essays that describe the lost city of Carcosa, where the play is set. It will quickly become clear from the multiple moons and dark stars (whatever those might be) that this Carcosa is far in time and distance from Mystara. And yet the writer insists they have visited it and beheld its terrifying majesty. Furthermore they say that the King in Yellow still holds court after millenia of rule. Whether the King in Yellow is a title passed down to successors or perhaps is a being that does not age as mortals do is unclear.
One powerful cleric of the forces of Law (Juliannus of Lucinius) who read a seized copy and somehow managed to avoid the worst effects came to the conclusion that the original book was written by the King in Yellow himself as a ploy to gather followers and disrupt his foes. Juliannus also postulated that the King in Yellow is a powerful supernatural being of utter Chaos, similar to or perhaps one of the dreadful beings worshipped by the Arvorians of Norwold. Before he died after a fall from the top of his temple (some say an accident, others say suicide) Juliannus insisted that a taskforce of lawful clerics should be established to counteract this pernicious and curse-inflicting book and those who promote and recite it. He saw it as a plague, a moral infection that would incapacitate or subvert all those who came into contact with the main vectors - the Troupe in Yellow. Only the Order of the Amethyst Rose paid any attention to Juliannus while he was still alive, and we all know what happened to them.