Scions of the Outer Dark and their Followers

Warning: This post involves adult themes and may be considered not safe for work (NSFW) or small children. 

As first mentioned in my post on Arvorians, the Scions of the Outer Dark are the intermediaries between the Great Old Ones (unfathomable and alien beings from the Sphere of Entropy) and mortals such as Arvorians, humans and chaotic humanoid tribes. While the Scions of the Outer Dark are also unfathomable and alien, they at least deign to communicate with mortals, and even grant them spells in a similar way to more human-like immortals. But while saints, exalted and chaos princes are raised from exceptional mortals, the Scions of the Outer Dark are born from the Great Old Ones. The Scions have the most influence in northern Norwold, where the interdimensional entrance to their prison is, though there are reports of worship of these things reaching the Known World. 

There are perhaps dozens of these Scions known to the Arvorians, and the Scions grant the Eldritch Crusaders (Fighter/Clerics of the Arvorians) clerical spells as well as command over the undead.  Scions can communicate with mortals, mostly through dreams but also through the use of various divinations, particularly haruspicy (the inspection of a sacrificial victim's organs). Although these Scions of the Outer Dark are currently held in an interdimensional prison, they can still occasionally create avatars on the Prime plane. These avatars are vastly weakened versions of the Scions themselves, and have been compared to an immortal-level sort of Project Image spell. There have even been instances when brave and powerful mortals have fought and defeated an avatar, a feat unthinkable if the real Scion were present. 

E'hillit: This being has a weird fascination with insanity and will toy with the minds of mortals and watch them unravel as a callous and curious child might pull the wings of insects and watch them scurry about helplessly. E'hillit is notorious for taking the most terrifiying and mind-warping forms when appearing to worshippers - a sort of Escher staircase of flesh and tentacles, defying biology and geometry at the same time. It has let its followers know that although it could appear in a more acceptable form, it chooses not to. Pets include creatures that cause confusion and insanity, such as Umber Hulks and Gibbering Mouthers. Before its imprisonment, E'hillit most frequently visited the material plane in the aptly named City of Madness. Its worshippers include Arvorians, a few human Chaos cultists and goblin and gnoll tribes. Among such believers insanity is not seen as an affliction but a gift, for they believe that reason is a form of denial and only the insane can truly see the horror of reality. 

Vergilloss: This is a whisperer of dark secrets and forbidden knowledge. Vergillos has been known to appear to followers as handsome male arvorian wizard or arcane knight, always holding a book with writhing flesh as its bindings. Although rarely worshipped among humanoid tribes, Vergilloss is popular among both Arvorians and human Chaos cultists, especially chaotic human magic users. Twisted Summoners are especially fervent followers, as Vergilloss can grant them their special powers to control monstrous minions, and even teach the summoners about new types of minion. Vergilloss is known to occasionally grant new spells to followers, usually magic-user spells though sometimes clerical. It does not give magic items directly but will sometimes inspire mortals to create new magic items, nearly always with a chaotic, evil purpose and possibly side effects. Vergilloss has an affinity for bats and the avatar occasionally abandons its arvorian form to become a giant bat. His followers occasionally keep pet bats, and try not to hurt wild bats. It prefers sacrifices to be killed by interesting and unusual spells.  

Tallassia is a Scion with a female bent and an unhealthy interest in the undead. She takes one of two forms - both of a slim, elegant Arvorian lady, but in one form she is alive and healthy and could pass off as a striking and noble mortal, while in another she is the same Arvorian lady but rotting and clearly undead. She tells followers that life is only a temporary phase and that their true destinies are as undead creatures, the more powerful the better. She and her followers are contemptuous of living things and do not hold life in much regard - killing creatures is prematurely releasing them from their feeble, painful, fearful state of life. Arvorian Eldritch Crusaders, chaotic human clerics and even humanoid shamans that follow Tallassia are gifted with the ability to control and command undead with the same chance as they would to turn undead. Many of her followers are actually undead, and include liches, vampires and death knights. 

Image by GCMM, source

Skeereett appears as a hideously diseased and rotting rat of huge proportions. It revels in decay, disease and decadence, and it teaches its followers that everything decays as soon as it is created, including living things. Worshippers often have a variety of horrible diseases which oddly do not affect the bearer's effectiveness. They typically have a pessimistic, gloomy attitude as well as shockingly bad personal hygiene. As well as rats, Skeereett also has an affinity for slimes and oozes, and they are used in ritual sacrifices to Skeereett, with victims being dropped into pits that contain these organisms to be dissolved and devoured.

Belthag'uur appears in different forms, sometimes an oversized Arvorian warrior standing 12' tall in hellforged iron armour and wielding an elaborate but bloodspattered sword, sometimes a huge muscle-bound minotaur wielding two great axes, or sometimes a gargantuan troll. It is a creature of violence and battle and eternal struggle. As far as Belthag'uur is concerned, life is an ongoing fight and only the strongest survive, and the weak will be trampled underfoot. This simple philosophy appeals to both Chaos Warriors and many humanoids and chaotic monsters. Strangely enough most Arvorians find this rather crude and simplistic, so Belthag'uur has far more human, orc and ogre worshippers than Arvorian followers. Belthag'uur has ordered his followers that every full moon there should be a sacrifice in the form of a gladiatorial fight to the death. The winner lives (at least until the next match) and the loser's entrails are inspected for signs of divine favour or ire.

Mohosskith is the master of stealth and shadows, and often appears to its followers as a massive black tarantula with far too many legs that never makes a sound. Arvorians are not very good at conventional stealth, though they can often use magic as a work-around - Arvorian followers of Mohosskith also like to use illusion and phantasm spells a lot, including spells that are also used by gnomes. There are a few human cultists of Mohosskith who are skilled as thieves, burglars and assassins. Goblins, kobolds, bugbears and doppelgangers admire Mohosskith's gift for sneakiness. Mohosskith's favourite sacrifices are when its followers sneak into a victims home and kill them in their beds without waking anybody else up. Followers of this Scion are discouraged from hurting any spiders except in unavoidable self defence.

Art by Wayne Reynolds, source

Not all Arvorians are followers of Scions. There are some who just worship Chaos in general, and are less interested in freeing the Scions from their imprisonment. Such a lazy and apathetic attitude is often viewed with contempt by the disciples of the Scions.