A Tale of Dark Magic

for Shadow of the Demon Lord ~Credits~

Every city has its secrets, and the
one in which Underside sprawls
is no different. People make signs
against evil and visibly shudder
whenever the dark neighborhood
is mentioned, for they know it as a
lawless warren of the disaffected,
misfits, freaks, and outcasts. Rumors concerning the goings-
on in Underside run the gamut: from tales of giant rats
stealing unattended children; to vicious gangs free to do
as they will; to the mysterious Crimson King, who puts on
a sinister show known as the Cabaret of the Grotesque.
Underside has few defenders, and though the people forced
to live in this neighborhood endure terrible hardships
and suffering, they have nowhere else to go. But as evil’s
influence grows on the streets and the shadows darken,
some believe that Underside’s time is coming to an end and
that steps must be taken to reclaim this wayward community
and put a stop to the unchecked horror worming its way
through the lives of the innocent and guilty alike.
WRITING, Design, and Art Direction:
Robert J. Schwalb
editing: Jennifer clarke wilkes
Proofreading: Jay Spight
Graphic Design: Kara Hamilton and Hal Mangold
LAYOUT: kara hamilton
ILLUSTRATIONs: katerina ladon
cartography: cecil howe
Cabaret of the Grotesque is ©2019 Schwalb Entertainment, LLC.
All rights reserved.
Shadow of the Demon Lord, Cabaret of the Grotesque,
Schwalb Entertainment, and their associated logos
are trademarks of Schwalb Entertainment, LLC.
Schwalb Entertainment, LLC
PO Box #12548, Murfreesboro, TN 37129
info@schwalbentertainment.com www.schwalbentertainment.com
 Cabaret of the Grotesque is a Shadow of the Demon
Lord adventure for a group of master characters who
are drawn into the seedy underbelly of a large city. As
they explore Underside, the group can uncover many
threats to the good of the city beyond. If they choose
right, they might change the city’s course. If they
choose wrong, they might doom the entire world!
The Crimson King
A chilling figure has risen to power in Underside,
a man known as the Crimson King. A master of
the darkest magic of Demonology, he practices his
dreadful art in hopes of salvaging what remains of
his soul from the doom that awaits him in death.
Perhaps if he releases demons into the world, the
Hunger in the Void will see fit to raise him up to
serve at the Dark One’s side. Perhaps not. Madness
never considers the risks or the rewards; there can
be only action.
The Crimson King fled to Underside a few months
ago with Irwyn Rathbone, a renowned witch
hunter, hot on his heels. Upon entering this filthy,
ramshackle neighborhood, the King sought out the
leader of the strongest and most dangerous gang
and found whom he sought in Fat Kypen, who led
the infamous Cyclopes in their reign of terror over
their corner of the city. The King offered to cure
the blisters on Kypen’s manhood in exchange for
protection from the witch hunter. Kypen, though
baffled by how the King knew of his affliction,
readily agreed and the pox that had so troubled him
vanished, leaving him healthy once more. Living up
to their bargain, Kypen dispatched his foot soldiers
to find the witch hunter and his entourage, kill them,
and dispose of their bodies.
In the months since the King made his bargain,
he has lived in a rotting tenement. In the gloomy
chambers he calls home, he worked his dark magic,
loosing demon after demon into the building to drive
mad the inhabitants and possess their bodies. With
each soul devoured by a demon, the King’s power
grows, but the more demons released, the more
tenuous his control became, to the point that he
feared that they would break free and slip into the city.
If that happened, surely his enemies would suspect
his hand in the evil released and descend on him
before he was ready to make his final stand.
So, the Crimson King devised a plan to exert greater
control over his demonic minions by hosting a grand
entertainment for them in the ruins of an old theater
not far from where he makes his lair. Once each week,
the possessed converge there, taking their seats in
the rotting furniture amid the moldering remains
of the once-fine trappings, and behold atrocities
unimaginable: the torture, dismemberment, and utter
2
violation of innocents who have fallen into the King’s
clutches. So far the spectacle, which has become
known as the Cabaret of the Grotesque, has kept the
demons under the King’s control, but for how long, no
one can guess.
Unmasking the Evil
Before you run the adventure, decide how to involve
the player characters. They should be committed
enough to ensure they see the adventure through
to its conclusion. You can always resort to the old
standbys of having them pass through Underside,
be hired to investigate the rumors coming out of the
neighborhood by a patron or a connection, or become
entangled in the plot through a family member,
friend, or loved one.
If the player characters have ties to the Cult of the
New God, the religious leaders might send them to
track down this Crimson King fellow they’ve heard
about. Or the Cult might send them to learn the fate
of the witch hunter, if the characters have met that
man in the past.
Placing Underside
Cabaret of the Grotesque forgoes placing Underside in
any specific city to maximize the adventure’s utility.
The neighborhood can anywhere you like. However,
given its sinister reputation and the inability or
disinterest of the authorities to do anything about it,
Underside belongs in a city of considerable size, with
a population large enough to accommodate the loss
of life brought about by the wicked denizens of this
place. Some suggestions include the ruins of Caecras;
any of the more populous cities in the Confederacy,
such as Edes, the Dreaming City, or Set, the City of
God; or the City of Adventure on the Pirate Isles.
Underside
Underside worms through the heart of the city’s
poorest district. No one planned the district’s
development; it grew out of neglect. As the streets
became more dangerous, constables became less
inclined to patrol them. The absence of reliable law
enforcement invited undesirable elements into the
decaying neighborhood and freed the gangs to come
into power. Now, Underside acts as a city within a
city, a place dangerous to outsiders and infested with
criminals, the insane, the desperate, and the cruel.
Undersiders
Many wonder why anyone would bother to still live
in Underside. Those with a few extra coppers in their
pocket were able to find other places to live or took to
the streets, homeless and destitute. Some abandoned
 the city altogether, but most chose to stay. For many,
Underside is home and has been for generations.
Just because the neighborhood has fallen on hard
times doesn’t mean people should just pick up and
leave. Others have no place else to go. Since many
landlords abandoned their holdings, people have
been squatting in the decaying tenements. Supplies
might be scarce, but once you get over eating your first
rat or finishing off a bowl of boot soup, you can make
do with anything.
Most Undersiders, as they have come to be known,
are a sorry lot: hollow-eyed, painfully thin, afflicted
with a host of ailments, dirty, cynical, and suspicious
of everyone they meet. Trust is a commodity few can
afford, especially when the average person would steal
the shoes off a dying man, or stick a knife in you for
a chance to eat something that doesn’t crawl through
the sewers. For all their faults, though, Undersiders
are tough, independent, and self-reliant. They don’t
want charity. They don’t want help. They just want to
be left alone.
The Cyclopes
The absence of law enforcement created a vacuum
that the gangs were only too happy to fill. After a brief
struggle between a dozen or so groups, the Cyclopes
emerged victorious and their leader, Fat Kypen,
declared himself mayor of Underside. The Cyclopes
have brought some order to the neighborhood, and
the gang offers protection to the locals—for a price.
No one has trouble identifying the gang members.
Membership demands candidates cut out their left
eyes and offer them to Fat Kypen, who places the eyes
in glass bottles. It’s said that Kypen peers through
these eyes to monitor his underlings and see what
they are seeing. For this reason, no one in the gang
has challenged Kypen for leadership, and everyone
does exactly what he says.
CYCLOPES GANGER DIFFICULTY 5
Size 1 human
Perception 9 (–1)
Defense 13 (hard leather); Health 30; Insanity 1d6;
Corruption 1d3
Strength 12 (+2), Agility 11 (+1), Intellect 9 (–1), Will 11 (+1)
Speed 10
Team Tactics When a Cyclopes ganger deals damage to a
creature, each creature with this trait gains 1 boon to its
attack rolls until the end of the round.
ATTACK OPTIONS
Long Knife (melee) +2 with 1 boon (2d6)
Hand Crossbow (short range) +1 with 1 boon (2d6)
Fat Kypen
Undersiders don’t dare to say a word against the
Tyrant of Underside, since he has eyes everywhere.
A vicious and cruel brute, Fat Kypen has led the
Cyclopes since the start, having founded the gang
3
with a few hooligans a dozen years ago. As the gang’s
numbers grew, he waged a war against rival groups,
killing their leaders and absorbing their members
until the Cyclopes’ numbers swelled to over fifty.
Kypen isn’t much to look at. Heavyset with sallow
skin and greasy black hair, a foul smell surrounds
him and he has had recurring trouble with his sexual
organs due to frequent unwise trysts. He always has a
few prostitutes hanging around, each as unpleasant
as himself.
A man of such low character and lack of talent
should never have been in charge of the most
powerful criminal organization in Underside, but he’s
never been one to follow the rules. Right around the
time the Cyclopes formed, he made a bargain with
a devil, promising his soul to Hell in exchange for a
kingdom to rule. The devil offered him Underside and
he took it, such was his ambition.
Kypen’s ability to peer through the severed eyes of
his underlings was another gift wrested from the devil
he summoned. When looking into an eyeball, he can
see as if in the space occupied by the ganger to whom
the eye belonged. When a gang member dies, the
severed eyeball shrivels away.
FAT KYPEN DIFFICULTY 25
Size 1 human
Perception 12 (+2)
Defense 13 (hard leather); Health 50; Insanity 4; Corruption 5
Strength 11 (+1), Agility 11 (+1), Intellect 12 (+2), Will 9 (–1)
Speed 10
Trickery Twice per round, when Kypen would make an
attack roll or challenge roll, he can make the roll with
1 boon. If he makes an attack roll with 1 boon from this
talent, the attack deals 1d6 extra damage.
ATTACK OPTIONS
Long Knife (melee) +1 with 1 boon (2d6)
SPECIAL ATTACKS
Carve You Up Fat Kypen makes two long knife attacks. If
both attacks deal damage to the same target, the target
must get a success on a Will challenge roll or become
frightened for 1 round.
MAGIC
Power 2
Divination precognitive attackO (3), sense perilO (2),
anticipate attackO (1)
Forbidden carve the fleshO (3), obedience (2), serpent
tongueO (2)
Occult Philosophy Spells
Some creatures in this adventure use spells from
the Occult Philosophy sourcebook, marked with
a superscript O. If you don’t have that book, you
can swap out those spells for equivalent ranks
from one you do have.
 Local Color A. Lost Hope
You can use the following table to help bring Underside One of the few taverns still in operation in Underside,
to life as the group explores the neighborhood and the Lost Hope attracts those few people who have
money to waste on alcohol. A crude building made
tracks down the Crimson King. from salvaged materials, boards cover the windows
and the front door hangs from a single hinge. Smoke
Local Color fills the interior, partially obscuring a handful of
d20 Local Color tables and chairs, a few booths, and a long bar fronted
by rickety stools.
1 A small boy crushing a rat with a paver stone.
Arnus Cree (hired killer) runs the Lost Hope after
2 A bent old woman who wards away the
characters with a sign against evil. murdering the last owner for demanding that he pay
3 A drunkard sleeping in a doorway.
his tab. A grizzled man, heavily scarred with a thick
beard, he rarely comes out from behind the bar. He
4 A pair of men pissing in an alley.
runs the place with the help of two old prostitutes,
5 A hulking brute of a woman cleaning blood off her
hands with an old shirt.
Dirk and Sallia. In a cauldron hanging in the hearth
bubbles some noxious stew that no one dares eat,
A pair of twin girls, holding hands, standing over
6 a corpse. the stench of which contributes to the place’s gloomy
A couple of large rats sniffing around a pile of
atmosphere.
7 rubbish.
A goblin pleasuring himself while peering through B. The Grand Stage
8 a window. Once the jewel of the neighborhood, the Grand Stage
9 An immobilized clockwork that’s missing its key. has become a wreck of its former self since Underside
10 A small crowd gathered around a pair of bloody, fell on hard times. Years ago, it was an opera house
knife-fighting halflings. that hosted the greatest singers, performers, and
11 A man with a single horn growing out from the troupes in the region. One can still find peeling
side of his head, shuffling down an alley.
posters on the sides of the building, advertising such
12 A foul-mouthed boy shouting insults at passersby. acts as Aluica the Siren, the Witch-King’s Lament, and
13 A legless man seated on an old crate, rocking the Emperor’s Folly.
back and forth, muttering about demons.
14 An old dog carrying a severed hand in its teeth.
A scantily clad man or woman leaning against a
15 wall and looking for a good time.
A filthy woman with solid black eyes and weird
16 writing all over her face.
A young man noisily vomiting on the street, while
17 a couple of crows peck at the mess.
An old woman carrying a stick from which hang
18 several dead rats by their tails.
A thing that looks like a potato with legs
19 withdrawing into a pool of shadows.
A pair of sinister mercenaries passing a bottle of
20 rotgut between them.

Gloomy Streets and

Rotting Buildings
The city beyond Underside has done its best to
forget this neighborhood exists, and most routes
into the area have been closed off. Now only alleys,
rubbish-strewn and reeking of piss, offer access to
the Underside’s gloomy streets and rotting buildings.
Once through these channels, visitors find themselves
in a tangled maze of narrow streets shadowed by the
buildings that loom on all sides. A few locations are
important to this adventure and are detailed below.
You can add to them places of your own creation.
4
 The interior features a lobby with a bar area, coat
check, and ticket boxes. Stairs sweep up to the balcony
level, while a set of double doors opens onto the
hall and stage beyond. The place reeks of mildew
and water drips from above. Cobwebs cover the
ceiling, almost cocooning the once great chandelier,
appearing to be the only thing still holding it up.
The curtains covering the stage show holes and stains,
while dried blood and bits of flesh cover the boards.
Behind the stage is storage for old props, dressing
rooms, offices, and the like, none of which has seen
significant use in at least twenty years.
It is here the Crimson King conducts the macabre
performances to keep his demon-possessed minions
under control. See “The Show Must Go On,” below,
for more details.
If the characters snoop around the Grand Stage,
they are bound to run across Old Man Gregory (see
“Following the Leads,” below).
C. Maggie’s Simples
A ramshackle building closing off the end of a
side street, Maggie’s Simples offers a wide range
of tinctures, tonics, elixirs, and potions. Maggie
(apprentice witch), a middle-aged woman, has
operated the business for the last ten years, after
the witch to whom she was apprenticed was killed
by Red Philip (see below).
Maggie sells her wares for whatever price her
customers can afford, whether a concoction to rid a
woman of an unwanted pregnancy or a salve to burn
off warts. She keeps to herself most times and rarely
leaves her shop.
Player characters can find any potion and forbidden
item (see Demon Lord’s Companion™) here, but Maggie
sells such items for twice their listed cost.
D. Rat Butcher
People need to eat, and the Rat Butcher makes sure
they do—for a reasonable price. The Rat Butcher’s
shop opened across the street from the Grand Stage
a few years ago after he moved into an abandoned
house there. As the name suggests, much of the meat
for sale comes from dubious sources, and sits out
in the open or on hooks hanging from the ceiling,
crawling with flies.
The Rat Butcher (hired killer) stands seven feet
tall and is all muscle. He has a thick black beard
and wears a bloodstained apron. He speaks with an
irritating lisp, made worse by the gaps between his
rotting teeth. He has recently grown an eyeball on
his back shoulder, a mark of darkness acquired from
feeding human flesh to the locals.
A door at the back of the front room leads to
a chamber of horrors, where the Rat Butcher
disassembles bodies with his cleaver. Bits of flesh,
5
fur, and body parts are strewn about everywhere. A
trap door in the floor leads to cold storage, where
one can find a couple of corpses—members of the
witch hunter’s entourage—that have not yet been
reduced to cutlets.
E. The Red House
Underside has several tenement buildings, all of
which offer appalling accommodations to their
inhabitants, but none are quite as bad as the Red
House. A three-story building of red brick, with
windows facing the street (the glass in all having
been broken out), it is a sinister presence in the
neighborhood that most people avoid.
A single wooden door at the top of three stone steps
opens into a hallway, with doors lining the sides. A
staircase at the back leads up to the second and third
floors, which are identical to the first, and down to
the cellar. Mold covers the walls and makes the air
thick with rot. Everything feels damp, and the carpets
underfoot squelch with each step. The rooms are all
similarly poor and filthy, with damaged furniture,
holes in the floors, and cracks in the walls.
The cellar houses a band of 6 ghouls who have been
transformed into their sorry state after eating flesh
sold to them by the Rat Butcher. They are terrified of
the Red House’s inhabitants and do not hunt them.
Instead, they creep out of the building under the
cover of dark and snatch people off the streets.
The Red House is home to several innocent people,
as well as ten people possessed by demons, and the
Crimson King makes his lair somewhere inside. For
more information about this place, see “Assault on the
Red House,” on page 10.
F. The Lair
The members of the Cyclopes, as well as their leader,
spend time in an old, rundown bar they’ve called the
Lair. The front room has bedrolls all over the floor,
along with broken bottles and scraps of food. There
are as many as a dozen Cyclopes here at any time.
They attack intruders but keep them alive for a bit of
fun later on.
Fat Kypen has a room in the back, where he passes
his time with a few prostitutes. The room contains a
bed, a dresser loaded with drugs and trophies stolen
from locals, and a myriad of suspicious stains. A shelf
on the back wall holds thirty small bottles in which
float eyeballs. Kypen has amassed a small fortune
in art objects, jewelry, and coin, worth about 100
gc. In addition, he has three randomly determined
enchanted objects.
 Descent
into Darkness
Whether the player characters are new arrivals to
the city or have been based there for some time, the
first step in the adventure is to get the group into
Underside. Few locals admit to its existence, but
questioning constables, criminals, or people who have
cause to interact with the city’s seedier side can direct
the group there. If the characters take time to ask
questions about the place, they can learn some or all
of the following information.
• No one goes to Underside because it’s cursed. It’s a
lawless place filled with the corrupt and mad.
• The law does not extend to this neighborhood
because even the constables are afraid to go there.
• A witch hunter came to the city not long ago
asking a lot of the same questions. No one ever
saw him or his entourage again.
• Four henchmen accompanied the witch hunter.
• A gang known as the Cyclopes controls the area
completely and is known to rough up outsiders.
• Some people claim there’s a killer on the loose
there, a murderer known as Red Philip, who steals
body parts from the people he (or she) kills.

Exploring Underside of the ghouls wears the likeness of a member of the

Once the characters reach Underside, they can
go wherever they like and do whatever they want,
following up on whichever lines of investigation
they choose. The neighborhood is dangerous, so
they might have to defend themselves. You can use
the following encounters as you choose while the
characters are in the neighborhood.
One-Eyed Bastards
At a point of your choosing, 10 Cyclopes gangers
(see above) confront the group, preferably soon after
the player characters enter Underside. The Cyclopes
consider the group a threat and approach to make
sure the newcomers understand how things work in
this town. The gang members make threats, perhaps
demanding a few silver shillings as a road tax, and
then mock the group as they walk away. If attacked,
they fight until four or fewer gangers remain, at which
point the survivors flee.
If the characters take any of these people prisoner,
roughing them up a bit gets them to reveal who they
are (the Cyclopes), who they work for (Fat Kypen), and
where they hang out (the Lair).
Ghouls on the Prowl
Characters out on the streets at night might come
across a band of 6 ghouls hunting for fresh meat. One
6
witch hunter’s entourage, having consumed the body
less than 24 hours ago. The rest might look like ghouls
or like people they have eaten, as you decide. The
monsters might see a small group as easy prey or the
characters might spot them harassing a few locals. If
attacked, the ghouls fight until only one remains; it
surrenders or flees, whichever option offers the best
chance for survival.
Questioning ghouls reveals they transformed
recently and have only a vague idea of what has
happened to them. If asked whether they’ve eaten
human flesh (or that of some other sentient creature),
they deny it, saying the last meal they had was
certainly rat meat purchased from the Rat Butcher.
They can direct the characters to this fellow.
Red Philip
At any point during the adventure, the characters can
come across one of Red Philip’s victims. A psychotic
killer, he stalks the people of Underside at night. He
strikes from hiding, knocks them unconscious, and
cuts off or out their sexual organs, which he then eats.
Red Philip’s insanity stems from his being a
changeling. He is unaware of his nature, and the
magic that sustains him torments his mind, filling his
 RED PHILIP DIFFICULTY 50
Size 1 faerie
Perception 11 (+1); shadowsight
Defense 13; Health 70; Insanity 7; Corruption 6
Strength 12 (+2), Agility 13 (+3), Intellect 9 (–1), Will 8 (–2)
Speed 10
Immune damage from disease; charmed, diseased
Iron Vulnerability Red Philip is impaired while in contact
with iron. As well, when Red Philip touches or is touched
by iron, he reverts to his natural appearance: a lumpy
mess of mud, rotting sticks, and small rocks assembled
into a humanoid shape.
ATTACK OPTIONS different method each time. Possible routes to getting
Club (melee) +2 with 2 boons (3d6)
Bronze Scissors (melee) +3 with 2 boons (2d6 + 1)
SPECIAL ATTACKS • Offer a bribe of at least 1 ss
Savage Attack Red Philip attacks with his club and his
bronze scissors.
Knock Out If Red Philip gets a success on an attack roll
against a target creature he has surprised, the target
must get a success on a Strength challenge roll with 1
bane or fall prone and unconscious for 1d3 rounds.
SPECIAL ACTIONS
Steal Identity Red Philip uses an action, or a triggered action
on his turn, to alter his appearance to match that of a living
target creature he can see within short range. The target
must be of Size 1/2 or 1 and have a humanoid shape of
flesh and blood. Red Philip’s body changes so it looks like
the target, though his clothing and possessions remain
unchanged. The effect lasts until Red Philip uses this talent
again. If he becomes incapacitated, he resumes his normal
form (see above). When Red Philip uses this action, he
makes attack rolls against the target whose identity he
has stolen with 1 boon for as long as Red Philip has the
creature’s appearance. (Red Philip can only use Steal
Identity after he has discovered the truth about his nature.)
head with dreams and delusions. Red Philip has no
home or lair; he wanders the neighborhood, taking
shelter where he finds it.
In his current form, Red Philip appears as a short,
pudgy human, with a wide grin and sparkling eyes.
Blood stains his face and teeth. His clothes are filthy,
and so are the bronze scissors he carries to perform
his “surgeries.”
Red Philip’s Victims
The characters are more likely to find one of Red
Philip’s victims than they are him. The changeling
leaves the corpses in a tangled mess where he killed
them, usually in an alley or inside an abandoned
building. Investigating the scene reveals the horror
done to the body, which requires anyone seeing it to
make a Will challenge roll or gain 1 Insanity. Bloody
footprints and handprints likely show up at the scene,
but offer few clues to where he has gone.
Investigation into the attacks turns up no witnesses,
and efforts to identify the victims reveal them to be loners,
prostitutes, drug addicts, or sots. One of the victims could
be known by Smooth Hands Sam (see below).
The characters might use magic to divine the
identity of the killer or come up with a clever idea to
trap him. If they manage to track down Red Philip and
dispatch him, grant the characters fortune.
7
Finding the Witch Hunter
The player characters might gain some clues
by interacting with any of Underside’s perilous
inhabitants, but they will have better luck by
exploring key locations and speaking to the locals.
Most people fear the Cyclopes and thus aren’t eager
to share information with obvious outsiders. The
characters will have to make some effort to get locals
to divulge any information and will have to use a
this information include any of the following, though
more elaborate offerings will also work.
• Provide healing of some kind
• Offer food and drink
• Provide a place for the local to spend the night
• Help the character or one of the character’s
dependents escape Underside
• Kill a specific member of the Cyclopes or Red Philip
• Discover what happened to one of the ghouls
Any favor they perform for a local rewards the
player characters with a single clue. You can choose
from the following responses.
• “An arrogant swine of a witch hunter did come to
Underside. Wasn’t here long before the Cyclopes
got him. Cut him down in the streets and killed
all his little henchmen too. I ran off before them
bastards thought I was one of ’em.”
• “The Cyclopes dragged the bodies off to the Rat
Butcher. They paid me a few bits to help them.”
• “I’m pretty sure at least one of the witch hunter’s
crew got away. One fellow staggered off down
an alley, clutching at his guts and bleeding
everywhere. The Cyclopes didn’t notice—I guess
on account of their all being one-eyed bastards.
Hell, I thought about finishing him off, but I lost
track of ’im.”
• “If you need healin’ in this part of town, there’s
only one place you can go. Maggie’s Simples. She
cured me of the Wanderin’ Warts last winter!”
• “You want to know something about what went
down with that god-peddler? You should ask
young Smooth Hands Sam. He’s a streetwalker
and sees everything.”
• “Only one bastard in this part of town has any
truck with that New God nonsense, and that’s old
man Gregory. He’s usually sleeping in an alley by
the Red House.”
• “Lots of weird goings-on lately. Bunch of
racket coming out the Grand Stage. Shit music.
Shouldna be surprised, since it’s that band of
shitheels over at the Lost Hope who do all the
playin’ there.”
 Following the Leads
From the locals, the characters can get all the leads
they need. Here’s where they can go.
The Cyclopes
The group probably has had a run-in with the gang
already, but if not, now is a good time. In addition
to the information they normally supply (see “One-
Eyed Bastards” above), the gangers can also reveal
that a few of their members did indeed murder a
witch hunter and his henchmen on orders from Fat
Kypen. If the characters pursue those killers, they
can find the group (2d6 Cyclopes gangers) without
trouble and confirm with survivors (after a brief and
bloody melee) that they hauled off the bodies to the
Rat Butcher. Finally, if the characters approach Fat
Kypen, he proves uncooperative unless seriously
threatened or offered a bribe valued at no less than 1
gc, which gets him to reveal the details concerning the
bargain with the Crimson King. Kypen hasn’t seen the
stranger since, though he’s heard about some “weird
shit” going down at the Grand Stage.
Rat Butcher
The group can track down the Rat Butcher without
trouble, but he is uncooperative and unpleasant. He
does not permit them to look around in his shop,
denies selling human flesh, and claims to know
nothing about the witch hunter or his servants. If the
characters attack him, he whistles (not an action) to
call forth 5 rat kings (animal swarms) he keeps as
pets. Each rat king consists of several rats whose tails
have become knotted together. The creatures fight to
the death.
If the characters take the Rat Butcher prisoner, they
will have to resort to torture or magic to get him to
reveal what he knows. (Depending on the methods
used, the act of torture might earn characters 1 or
more Corruption.) If he opens up, he confirms he took
the bodies of the witch hunter and his henchmen and
has been making sausages from them.
In his cold storage, the characters find two
intact bodies and two more that have been partly
dismembered. If they dig through the piles of clothing
and rubbish in the back room, they find a symbol of
the New God and an inquisitor’s skull mask. The Rat
Butcher doesn’t keep records of his customers, but
eventually the characters will run into someone who
turned after eating the tainted meat.
Maggie’s Simples
If the player characters pay Maggie a visit, they can
learn a few important clues—provided they can earn
her trust, which can be accomplished if the characters
8
do her a favor. Maggie knows the Rat Butcher
has been passing off human flesh as rat meat, as
evidenced by the sudden appearance of several ghouls
in the neighborhood. If the characters kill the Rat
Butcher and bring proof of the deed back to her, she
reveals what she knows.
• One of the witch hunter’s associates is still alive.
A prostitute named Smooth Hands Sam came in
a few days ago looking for a healing poultice. He
was not injured in any way and looked nervous
the entire time he was in the shop.
• Maggie knows several locals have been tainted in
some way, perhaps by a demonic influence. They
exhibit strange signs and behavior. She’s poisoned
a few, hoping to kill them off, but she has no idea
if the attempt has worked.
• She suspects most of those corrupted people live
in the Red House tenement building.
Smooth Hands Sam
Smooth Hands Sam (commoner) works the streets
of Underside as a prostitute. Thin, with bruised eyes
and a sweep of blisters on the side of his face, he’s
near the end of his career. Sam was present when the
Cyclopes ambushed the witch hunter and, in a rare
act of compassion, he dragged off one of the injured
henchmen and nursed him back to health with help
from Maggie.
Characters searching for Smooth Hands Sam can
find him servicing a customer in an alley, going to
or from Maggie’s Simples, or at the shack where
he’s been squatting. Other prostitutes can provide
directions to the place where he lives in exchange for
a 5 cp or greater bribe.
Sam tries to flee from the characters unless they
corner him in his shack. He can be persuaded or
intimidated into revealing what he knows, but he
will not accept a bribe. Sam knows the following
information.
• He saw the Cyclopes attack the witch hunter and
his entourage. The gang members killed everyone
but Karl, whom they severely injured.
• Sam has been tending to Karl’s wounds and
nursing him back to health.
• Sam hates the Cyclopes and would do anything to
rid Underside of them. He can reveal the location
of the Lair and fill in any information about the
gang that the characters don’t already know.
• Sam has spotted a few ghouls in Underside,
though he does not know where they come from.
• Sam has also seen a procession of people from
the Red House going into the Grand Stage once
each week. He’s heard terrible things about nasty
performances put on in that abandoned theater.
 Talking to Karl: Assuming the characters befriend
Sam or find his shack, they can meet and talk to Karl
(mercenary). A young man in his mid-twenties, he
has fully recovered from his injuries and stayed with
Sam so he can fight the Cyclopes and finish the work
the witch hunter started. He’s had little success so far,
given that he’s waging the battle alone.
• They had chased a crazed demonologist to this
neighborhood and were closing in on him when
they were ambushed by one-eyed thugs. Karl was
the only survivor.
• He believes the Crimson King is the demonologist
they were chasing. He suspects the villain lives
somewhere inside the Red House.
• He’s spotted the Crimson King leading a group of
strange people into the Grand Stage once a week.
He’s tried to get inside, but hasn’t yet found a way.
Karl will join the group and help them complete
their mission, though his departure makes Sam
nervous and sad.
Old Man Gregory
A defrocked priest (acolyte of the New God) who has
spent the last few years drowning his sorrows in the
bottom of a bottle, Old Man Gregory lives in a makeshift
shelter made from rubbish behind the Grand Stage. If
the characters poke around the building, whether they
are looking for him or not, they run across him.
9
Old Man Gregory might be a drunk, but he has
enough of his wits to notice things. If the characters
supply him with a bottle of rotgut or better booze, he
reveals what he knows.
• Once a week, the Crimson King leads his
followers into the Grand Stage. They remain
inside for a few hours and then leave, heading
back to the Red House.
• Gregory has heard strange music coming from
within the building.
• He looked inside once and saw the audience
watching as the Crimson King stripped the skin
and organs from a person. He flung the scraps
of meat to the onlookers, who fought among
themselves for the flesh.
The Players of Lost Hope
The Crimson King hired a group of middling
musicians to perform at the Grand Stage during the
cabarets he puts on there. Well paid for their efforts,
the musicians drink their earnings in the Lost Hope.
They are hostile to the group and attack with little
provocation (5 brigands with 3 Corruption each). If
the characters take any of them prisoner, they can find
out the following information.
• A strange man who calls himself the Crimson
King hired them a few weeks ago to perform at
the Grand Stage, an abandoned theater not far
from the Lost Hope.
• The Crimson King provided the music. They
know they have played, but they have no memory
of what music they made or what happened at the
Grand Stage. They remember going in and setting
up their instruments, and then it’s a blank until
they find themselves at the Lost Hope again.
• They believe the Crimson King lives in the
Red House.
The Show Must Go On
Once a week, the Crimson King leads the demon-
possessed denizens of the Red House to the Grand
Stage. Unless stopped, the event unfolds as follows.
• The musicians, having already been paid, leave
the Lost Hope at sunset and make their way to the
Grand Stage. It takes them about 10 minutes to
get there. Once they arrive, they use a key to open
the padlock securing the chains on the front door,
move inside, and set up on the stage, all of which
takes another 10 minutes.
• Around the time the musicians are setting up,
the demonologist, a charmed sacrifice, and 10
demon-possessed leave the Red House and
follow the street to the Grand Stage, arriving
there in about 5 minutes. The possessed gather
 before the stage, while the Crimson King and the
sacrifice go behind it. There, the demonologist
binds the sacrifice to a wheeled table, which
takes about 10 minutes.
• The possessed make horrid noises and behave
oddly until the Crimson King enters stage left,
wheeling the table to the center of the stage.
There, he lifts the table and locks it in position so
the audience can see everything.
• The musicians start the strange song, and
immediately their eyes turn black as a discordant
melody rises from their instruments. The Crimson
King then draws a knife and uses it, first to flense
the skin from the victim’s body and then to
dismember the still-living sacrifice. Each time the
demonologist cuts something from the victim, he
throws it to the crowd, where the meat is greedily
devoured. This horrific scene lasts about 1 hour.
• Once the Crimson King has dispensed the last of
the meat, he sheathes the knife, resets the table,
and wheels it off stage. A few minutes later, he
emerges from a side curtain and leads the now-
lucid possessed back to the Red House, taking
another 5 minutes for the procession to disappear
inside the building.
• After everyone has left, the musicians stop
playing, come back to their senses, pack up, and
shuffle over to the Lost Hope where they burn
through their earnings on food, drink, and sex
until the next time they’re called.
Interrupting the Cabaret
The player characters can interrupt the performance
at any time and might have done so already if they
slew the musicians at the Lost Hope. Alternatively,
they might slip into the Grand Stage to see what
happens. If they watch the entire performance, each
viewer must get a success on a Will challenge roll with
3 banes or gain 1d3 Insanity. If the group does nothing
to stop the sacrifice, each witness gains 1 Corruption
at the end of the adventure.
Interrupting the ceremony has dire consequences,
however. The music keeps the possessed under control.
If the characters attack the musicians while they are
playing, they do not respond and are considered
defenseless. Without at least one musician performing,
the demon-possessed swarm the stage and attack the
Crimson King and anyone else they can get their hands
on. The Crimson King flees by the safest available
route, heading to the Red House to perform an
incantation to banish any pursuing demons.
If attacked while the music plays, the demon-
possessed do not react and are considered defenseless.
Once incapacitated, however, the possessed mortals
die and the demons inside them break free (see
“Assault on the Red House,” below, for details).
10
If the characters attack the Crimson King while
he’s on stage, he defends himself and flees as soon
as he can, returning to the Red House. At the end
of each round, roll a d6 to determine how many
demon-possessed shake off the effects of the music.
Once freed, they take the next available turn to
attack the player characters and the Crimson King if
they are able.
Assault on
the Red House
All lines of investigation should eventually lead the
player characters to the Red House. The group can
investigate this place at any time and might find it
before the events at the Grand Stage. The building
normally houses 10 demon-possessed and the
Crimson King, so when the characters enter, they’ll
have their hands full.
Exploring the Red House
There are ten apartments on each floor of the Red
House, for a total of thirty. Each apartment has
several rooms: living space, kitchen, bathroom, and
bedroom. Whenever someone enters a room, roll a
d6 and consult the following table to see what they
find inside.
The characters can encounter a maximum of 10
demon-possessed. Similarly, the characters can
encounter the chamber of the Crimson King once.
Room Occupants
d6 Occupants
This foul room is strewn with rotting body parts.
Blood has been splashed on the walls and demonic
1 symbols, drawn in excrement, decorate the ceiling
and floor. The first time one or more characters
explore this room, call for Will challenge rolls. On a
failure, a character gains 1 Insanity.
In this abandoned room, everything has been left
2 to rot and molder. A thorough search of the place
turns up minor valuables worth 2d6 cp.
3 As 2, but the room is infested with 2d6 Void larvae.
In this squalid room live 1d3 + 1 people
(commoners with the infectious modification,
4 Shadow page 263). They are hostile and afraid. If
befriended, they can lead the group to the Lair of
the Crimson King (see below).
5 As 1, but the apartment is home to 1d3 demon-
possessed.
6 The Lair of the Crimson King.
Demon-Possessed
The Crimson King has been up to no good since
coming to Underside, and his foul magic has
released ten demons from the Void. Rather than just
tear apart anyone nearby, these demons haunted
 their prey, driving them insane to possess the
unfortunates. Now, lurking inside human shells, they
can move freely through the mortal world and carry
out their mad designs.
The demon-possessed were all humans who lived in
the Red House. Each (commoner with the horrifying
trait) shows some physical sign of their possession;
they are described below.
• A naked old woman with patchy white hair and
liver spots that creep across her skin.
• A little girl who has gnawed off the tips of her
fingers, blood caking her torn lips.
• A naked, gibbering man who fondles his
unresponsive member.
• A young man with intense eyes and profane
symbols carved in his arms.
• An adolescent boy who walks upside down on all
fours (he has the climber trait).
• A woman who wears the head of her dead
husband as a hat. She’s torn the skin off the
insides of her arms.
• A man whose head turns all the way around.
• A person of indeterminate gender whose fingers
and toes appear to have been broken.
• A corpulent person infested with maggots and
crawling with flies.
• A foul man who retrieves filth from his nether
regions and eats it.
The characters might be tempted to kill these
wretches, but doing so unleashes the demons within.
Each demon is unique, created using the rules laid out
in Hunger in the Void, and are detailed below. Whenever
a demon is released from its host, choose one of the
following entities. If several are released at once, choose
smaller demons rather than larger ones.
Grimbones
An ancient and terrible creature, grown large on the
souls it has destroyed, Grimbones (huge demon with
the following traits) appears as a headless humanoid
skeleton whose lower body ends in a skeletal serpent’s
tail. Transparent slime spills from the bones so that
the demon leaves a slick trail wherever it goes.
Unstable Form The demon takes 1d6 extra damage from
weapons. When the demon becomes incapacitated,
it explodes from a point in its space out in a 10-yard
radius, dealing 6d6 damage to everything in the area. A
creature can make an Agility challenge roll and takes half
the damage on a success. The explosion destroys the
demon and any objects it was carrying.
END OF THE ROUND
Regeneration The demon heals 1d6 damage if not
incapacitated.
Toxic Shadows Any living creature in the area of this
demon’s Demonic Shadows trait must get a success on a
Strength challenge roll or take 1d6 damage and become
poisoned for 1 minute. If the creature is already poisoned
in this way, it instead takes 1d6 extra damage.
11
Fallozu
Fallozu (large demon with the following traits) looks
like a human crossed with a shark, but its appearance
looks runny and melted. When it takes damage,
liquefied shit spurts from the wounds. Although the
demon prefers liquid environments, it can make do on
dry land.
Speed 12; swimmer
Blighted Demonic Shadows Any creature in the area of
this demon’s Demonic Shadows trait heals half as much
damage as it should and takes 1d6 extra damage when it
becomes injured.
Blurred Appearance The demon appears blurry and
indistinct. Creatures make Will challenge rolls to resist this
demon’s horrifying trait with 1 boon, but creatures that
can see it make their attack rolls against it with 1 bane.
Pokta
From the front or back and in shadows or darkness,
Pokta (large demon with the following traits) has the
appearance of a hyena-headed woman with skin melting
from her body. From the side or in light, though, Pokta
disappears. The demon whispers foul curses constantly.
Invisible in Light The demon is invisible while in lit areas.
Serpent Limb The demon’s left arm is a venomous snake.
The serpent limb is part of the demon’s body but acts
independently from it. The serpent takes a fast turn each
round and uses an action to attack one target creature it
can reach. For this attack, the demon makes a Strength
attack roll with 1 boon against the target’s Defense. On
a success, the target takes 2d6 damage and must get
a success on a Strength challenge roll with 1 bane or
gain 1 Corruption and become poisoned for 1 minute.
A creature that is already poisoned in this way instead
takes 2d6 extra damage.
Two-Dimensional The demon is invisible when viewed from
the side.
Holder
The demon known as Holder (medium demon with
the following trait) has the shape of a human-sized
ball, with a bulging, searching eye on one side above
a wide mouth with lips that look weirdly sexual. It
moves about on the hundreds of tiny legs that grow
out from its underside. Holder’s body is filled with
pink spiders that sometimes creep out of its mouth.
SPECIAL ACTIONS
Malleable The demon can use an action, or a triggered
action on its turn, to become malleable for 1 round. While
malleable, the demon cannot be grabbed, knocked prone,
or affected by anything that would change its shape. It
can squeeze through cracks large enough to permit the
flow of water. It can also move through spaces occupied
by other creatures regardless of their Size.
Host
A cloud of minuscule hairless monkeys flows across
the ground, occasionally gathering itself up to
assume a humanoid form (medium demon with the
following traits). The demon’s consciousness spreads
throughout its constituent forms, and it delights in
spreading mischief and mayhem.
Multitude The demon takes half damage from attacks that
use an attack roll and double damage from attacks that
require it to make a challenge roll.
Revulsion Creatures that are not swarms are impaired
while inside the demon’s space or within 1 yard of it.
 END OF THE ROUND
Vortex Each creature that is not a demon and is within
short range of the demon must make a Strength
challenge roll, with 1 bane per point of Size the demon
is larger than it. On a failure, the creature is moved 1d3
yards toward the demon.

Humgen
Faint squeaks can be heard when Humgen (medium
demon with the following trait) moves, created by the
green glass of its body rubbing against itself. A thick
white liquid fills its transparent form and sloshes
around inside. Humgen otherwise appears to have a
human shape, though with the head of an angry tuna.
Flying Shards When the demon takes damage from a
weapon, it sprays shards of glass in a cone that extends
1d3 yards away from the point of impact toward the
source of the damage. The shards deal 1d6 + 1 damage
to everything in the area. A creature in the area takes no
damage if it gets a success on an Agility challenge roll.
If the demon is incapacitated by the damage, it
explodes in a 2-yard-radius sphere centered on a point in
its space. Everything in the area takes 1d6 + 1 damage. A
creature can make an Agility challenge roll and takes half
the damage on a success.

Ooso’so
One of the stranger demons released by the Crimson
King, Ooso’so (small demon) has a radially shaped
body, with three flexible limbs joining in the middle.
Each limb ends in a toothy maw, but where the limbs
join and underneath its body are four more toothless
mouths from which issue strange humming sounds.
The upper side of the demon’s body consists of a trio
of flaccid penises that flop around as it moves. When
its leathery body is cut or torn, thick mucus spills free.
Chyt
Standing three feet tall, Chyt (small demon) fuses
the forms of human, wasp, and slug. Chyt has the
head of a grinning boy, cheeks plump and rosy, while
its torso is covered in the carapace of an insect. Four
multi-jointed arms extend from its sides, ending in
nasty claws, and a pair of jeweled wings sprout from
its back. Its lower body trails off into a tail with the
form of a slug, covered in hideous blisters. Chyt makes
musical noises when it moves, and thick black sludge
leaks from its injuries.
Mostoc
A small cloud of mist moves like a fish through the air, the
red droplets making up its form maintaining coherency as
it moves, even if exposed to a strong wind. Mostoc’s (small
demon with the following trait) merest touch burns like
strong acid, and it attacks by darting forward to slam its
prey with the drops making up its body.
END OF THE ROUND
Drift Roll a d6. On an even number, the demon moves a
number of yards equal to the number rolled in a direction
it chooses.
12
Hazzada
Nothing about Hazzada (tiny demon) appears
natural. A true spawn of the Void, it has a humanoid
body that stands about 18 inches tall on a pair of thick,
weirdly long legs. Hazzada’s spherical head swivels
from side to side, looking for something to kill, and its
purplish skin is covered with a thin, slimy membrane.
Claws extend from the seven fingers it has on each
hand. If cut, Hazzada bleeds black sand.
Lair of the Crimson King
The Crimson King makes his lair deep inside the Red
House. One door, wooden and with a bloody circle
painted on the surface, offers access to his chambers,
the other doors stretching down the hall having been
sealed shut by foul excretions that paint the interior
walls. The door is always unlocked.
Behind the door are six chambers, having been
connected by knocking down walls. Previously,
these rooms were separate apartments, inhabited by
wretched people whose remains can be still found
here (see below). A thick, tarry substance, about an
inch thick, coats the walls, ceiling, and floor. The
Crimson King’s footprints track through the muck;
foot- and handprints also show on the walls and
ceilings. Pools of reeking urine, piles of shit, and
discarded scraps of food lie everywhere. A faint
reddish light fills all the chambers, casting everything
into shadows, though the light has no obvious source.
 Reality has frayed in these chambers thanks to
the Crimson King’s magic, and the filth coating the
surfaces bleeds out from the Void. The slime is cold to
the touch. Any creature foolish enough to consume it
gains 1 Corruption and Insanity equal to its Will score,
and becomes possessed by a medium demon (see
Shadow, page 227, for rules on demonic possession).
Descriptions of the various locations follow.
A. Antechamber
The stench emanating from the muck, along with the
weirdness of the chambers, forces each character who
enters the lair to make a Will challenge roll. A failure
results in the character gaining 1d3 Insanity.
Two human bodies hang on a wall, glued to the surface
by the slime. The corpses once belonged to a diseased
couple; though dead, their mouths open and shut like
those of goldfish. They count as Size 1 objects with health
10. Fishing through the muck around the bodies turns up
15 cp in the rotting tatters of their clothing.
B. Void Larvae
As a consequence of the Void’s proximity, Void larvae
mobs have spilled into this room. The Crimson King’s
terrible power has kept these interdimensional vermin at
bay, but they are hungry and aggressive. Two vile mobs
of these things writhe in the muck and attack anything
that attacks them or that enters this area. The mobs
pursue fleeing characters and fight until destroyed.
C. Ghastly Chorus
The faces of the people who once lived in the Red
House and who objected to the Crimson King’s foul
experiments have been assembled into a ghastly
chorus that lurks behind the pile of bodies glued to
the back corner of this room. Characters inspecting
the bodies find that all are missing their faces. If the
corpses are disturbed, the ghastly chorus slithers
free from the heap to punish the intruders with its
Mournful Song. The undead fights to the death and
pursues fleeing opponents.
D. Throne of the Crimson King
When not working his evil, the Crimson King spends
his time in this chamber, evidenced by the abundant
wastes piled atop the slime. Against the far wall sits a
high-backed chair that leans to one side. Next to the
chair is a lectern, on which rests a large tome, and
a table littered with bits of organs, pools of blood, a
scattering of teeth, 16 gc, a tarnished silver chalice worth
1 gc, and two randomly generated enchanted objects.
The tome is a great work that holds the secrets of
Demonology. In its pages, one can find all manner of
blasphemous ideas, horrid diagrams, and forbidden
lore concerning demons. Reading the book from cover
to cover takes 6 weeks, 6 days, and 6 hours. If a creature
reads the book, on completion it gains 1 Corruption,
discovers the Demonology tradition, and must get a
success on a Will challenge roll with 6 banes or gain
2d6 Insanity.
13
VOID LARVAE MOB DIFFICULTY 10
Size 3 frightening demon
Perception 5 (–5); sightless
Defense 8; Health 44; Insanity —; Corruption —
Strength 11 (+1), Agility 8 (–2), Intellect 5 (–5), Will 5 (–5)
Speed 6
Immune blinded
Mob The Void larvae mob takes half damage from attacks
that target individual creatures and double damage
from attacks that affect areas. The mob acts as a single
creature but counts as ten creatures for choosing
targets. A mob makes Strength, Intellect, and Will
challenge rolls with 1 boon.
Creatures can move through the mob’s space, but
its area is difficult terrain. The mob can squeeze through
openings large enough to permit the passage of a
Size 1 creature and can move through spaces occupied
by other creatures.
Spawn When the mob becomes incapacitated, it dissipates,
and 1d6 Void larvae that made up the mob appear in
open spaces within the space it formerly occupied. The
Void larvae can act on the next available turn.
ATTACK OPTIONS
Dripping Teeth (melee) +1 with 4 boons (2d6 plus 2d6
from acid, or 1d6 plus 1d6 from acid if the mob is injured)
SPECIAL ATTACKS
Spit Acid The Void larvae mob spits corrosive slime at one
target creature or object within short range, making an
Agility attack roll against the target’s Agility. On a success,
the slime hits and the target takes 1d6 + 2 damage.
END OF THE ROUND
Overwhelm If the mob is not injured, each creature that
isn’t a swarm or mob that is in the mob’s space or within
1 yard of it must get a success on an Agility challenge roll
or take 2d6 damage.
Of even greater importance, however, the book
contains a potent incantation of the restore reality Order
spell from the Occult Philosophy sourcebook. This rank
10 spell, when properly cast, banishes demons back to
the Void and closes the fissures that allow the Demon
Lord’s fell influence to bleed into Underside. The spell
is likely beyond the characters’ ability to cast easily,
but feel free to let them try. If you don’t have access to
Occult Philosophy, just assume that a successful casting
rids the demons from the area and cleans the stain left
by the Void. Any character who casts the spell must
immediately make a Will challenge roll with 5 banes.
On a failure, the character takes 10d6 damage. If this
damage would incapacitate the character, the character
turns into a stone statue and dies.
E. Summoning Circle
In this room the Crimson King works his vilest magic.
This chamber lacks the foul slime found in other rooms.
Naked corpses sprawl in heaps in the corners, discarded
once they have served their purpose, and now feed a
few bold rats that creep over the rotting mounds. On
the floor at the center of the room the King has drawn a
pentagram in a mixture of blood and shit, positioning a
fat black candle at each point. Inside the pentagram waits
the shadowy figure of a large demon, imprisoned by the
diagram. If anything disturbs the diagram, the demon can
move freely and likely vents its hostility on the nearest
creature it can reach. This demon has no demonic talents
and can have any appearance you choose.

DEMON-SPAWNED OGRE DIFFICULTY 100
Size 2 horrifying monster
Perception 9 (–1); darksight
Defense 17; Health 67; Insanity —; Corruption 6
Strength 16 (+6), Agility 11 (+1), Intellect 4 (–6), Will 6 (–4)
Speed 12
Spell Defense The demon-spawned ogre takes half damage
from spells. When a creature would attack the demon-
spawned ogre with a spell, the ogre imposes 1 bane on the
attack roll and makes the challenge roll to resist the spell
with 1 boon.
ATTACK OPTIONS a reflection in a mirror. Black writing twists under his
Fist (melee) +6 with 2 boons (5d6)
SPECIAL ATTACKS him, while his lips have grown heavy and hang from
Devour The demon-spawned ogre eats one target
defenseless or dead creature of Size 1 or smaller that the
ogre can reach. A living target dies immediately.
Vomit When the demon-spawned ogre takes damage, it
can use a triggered action to vomit semi-digested food
into a 3-yard cone originating from a point it can reach.
Each creature in the area must make an Agility challenge
roll. A creature takes 2d6 damage and becomes impaired
for 1 round on a failure, or just takes half the damage on
a success. Once the ogre uses Vomit, it must eat before
it can use it again.
14
The Crimson King’s lackey and
lover is a brutish female ogre that
has been the target of his casting
of the create demon spawn spell
(from Occult Philosophy). She waits
here to be called by her master to
do whatever he bids. She is loyal
and fights to the death. She still
resembles a female ogre, but her
nipples leak a foul black liquid and
her pubic hair writhes and ripples
with the spiders that infest her
genitals.
F. Sleeping Quarters
Even the Crimson King requires
sleep. When the demonologist
takes his rest, he does so here in the
company of several bodies fused to
the floor. What he does not realize
is that the spirits of his victims also
haunt this room, unable to move
on to the Underworld due to their
hatred for their killer. So far the
spirits, 5 phantoms, have been
able to do nothing to their enemy
except watch while he sleeps. They
move freely through his chambers
but cannot pass through any wall,
due to the ichor collecting there.
The spirits regard the characters as
cohorts of the demonologist and
attack them when given a chance. If
they witness the characters fighting
the Crimson King, the phantoms
join them in the fight once the
demonologist becomes injured.
Confronting
the Crimson King
The characters have a few opportunities to confront
the demonologist. They might face him at the Grand
Theater, in the Red House, or as he travels from one
location to another in Underside.
Little of the Crimson King’s humanity remains,
having been corrupted beyond recognition. His sexual
organs are always engorged and painful. He never casts
skin, periodically spelling out foul curses. His teeth have
transformed into tiny centipedes that chew his food for
his face like curtains of meat. A long, fleshy, hairless tail
extends from the base of his spine and ends in a knob.
The Crimson King takes extensive steps to conceal
the horror of his body from others. He wears a hooded
red cloak that’s held in place by a golden band. The
hood keeps his face shadowed. Beneath his cloak he
wears a shirt and pants of red silk, cinched at the waist
with a golden cord, on the ends of which hang broken
 symbols of various gods. He moves quietly on slippers
stained black from the filth in his lair.
Thoroughly mad, the Crimson King seeks the end
of all things but believes he will be spared the coming
apocalypse through his constant service to the Demon
Lord. If confronted, muffled laughter slips past his
heavy lips, but he does not speak, and he goes about
the business of killing the aggressors with the cold
detachment of a butcher.
Taking him alive avails the characters little. He has
no motive to help them and believes his master will
save him even as the last of his lifeblood drains away.
The Crimson King carries several scrolls that hold
10 incantations of rank 2 or lower spells of your
choice. (The demonologist used several incantations
to establish himself in Underside, and what he carries
are all that remains of his collection.) As an important
servant of the Demon Lord, the Crimson King receives
a warning before the characters confront him, with
enough time to cast 3 spells of your choice.
Conclusion
The characters complete the adventure when they
destroy the Crimson King, ridding Underside of his
malign influence. The Void fissures gradually close
if the characters aren’t able to seal them with the
restore reality spell. If they fail, the Crimson King
continues his dreadful work, causing more and
more of the townspeople to become possessed by
demons, until he is ready to conquer the rest of the
city, which he manages to do a year later. Once in
command, he builds an army of darkness with which
to welcome the Demon Lord’s arrival, and he might
be an instrumental figure in bringing about the end
of the world. Of course, the Demon Lord destroys the
Crimson King with everyone else, but the Hunger
devours him last, in thanks for his constant service.
If the characters remove Fat Kypen from power,
another member of the Cyclopes takes his place.
However, this unworthy heir is replaced by an even
less worthy successor months later, and the entire
gang falls apart. Survivors might come under the
power of the Crimson King or might be recruited by
another gang that jumps in to fill the vacuum left by
their predecessors.
If the characters don’t purge the demons from the
possessed, the survivors spread out from Underside and
cause great trouble for the rest of the city. The characters
might have to return to put an end to their wickedness.
In fact, the demon-possessed could travel far beyond the
city and find the characters during future adventures.
Even if the characters put Underside back in some
semblance of order, though, the neighborhood
continues its slide into ruin and despair. A few
months after the events that take place in the
adventure, an outbreak of a virulent disease wipes
out the community entirely. The city leaders decide to
burn down the buildings to contain the plague, and
thus does Underside pass from this world.
15
CRIMSON KING DIFFICULTY 500
Size 1 frightening human
Perception 16 (+6)
Defense 15 (magic); Health 120; Insanity 8; Corruption 9
Strength 13 (+3), Agility 11 (+1), Intellect 16 (+6), Will 13 (+3)
Speed 10
Holy Anguish When the Crimson King touches or is
touched by religious paraphernalia of any kind, he takes
1 damage plus 1 damage at the end of each round he
remains in contact with the object.
Slave of Darkness Other creatures can sense the evil in
the Crimson King. All animals are hostile to him. In social
situations involving creatures that have 0 Corruption, the
Crimson King makes attack rolls with 3 banes.
Damned If the Crimson King becomes incapacitated, he
dies and his soul descends to Hell.
ATTACK OPTIONS
Long Knife (melee) +3 with 2 boons (3d6)
SPECIAL ATTACKS
Demonic Power The Crimson King uses an action to hurl
a bolt of demonic power at a target creature within
medium range. The King makes an Intellect attack roll
with 3 boons against the target’s Agility. On a success,
the bolt hits and the target takes 4d6 damage.
Violate the Mind The Crimson King can use an action, or
a triggered action on his turn, to reach out and touch
the mind of any target creature he chooses within 5
yards of himself. The target must get a success on a Will
challenge roll with 2 banes or gain 1d3 Insanity. If the
Insanity gain would cause a target to go mad, it becomes
possessed by a demon (see Shadow, page 227). The
Crimson King must wait 1 minute before he can use
Violate the Mind again.
Swift Casting The Crimson King can use a triggered action
on his turn to cast a rank 2 or lower spell he has learned.
MAGIC
Power 6
Chaos chaos boon (7), erratic bolt (7), capricious
devastation (3), fold space (3), flicker (2), wild magic (2),
mirror field (1), singularity (1)
Demonology otherworldly screamO (7), written in bloodO
(7), mark of the beastO (3), blood harvestO (2), demon
seedO (2), demonic mawO (1), steal form from substanceO
(1), call greater demonO (1)
END OF THE ROUND
Epic Recovery The Crimson King removes one affliction
from himself.
Grasping Demons Up to two target creatures within
medium range of the Crimson King must get successes on
Agility challenge rolls with 2 banes or take 2d6 damage
and be moved 1d3 yards in a direction the King chooses.
Writhing Shadows Shadowy tendrils spill from the Crimson
King’s body. The King can move up to half his Speed
without triggering free attacks. At any one point during
that movement, each creature the King chooses within
1 yard of himself must make an Agility challenge roll with
2 banes or take 2d6 damage and become impaired for
1d3 rounds.