Scourged¶
"Once a creature becomes a Raver, they have at most a few weeks left." — the corruption notes of the Etterwood (S052)
The Scourged are the beasts of the forbidden forest around the ruins of Anoth-Urulien, corrupted by the Elder Goddess Teneb'Vari through four stages of hunger, growth, agony and finally undeath. Toads, stags, treants, wolves, bears, snakes, spiders, kobolds and elves alike pass through the stages; what emerges at the end is no longer a beast but "a cunning, ruthless and absolutely evil minion of Teneb'Vari" (S052).
The forbidden forest¶
Teneb'Vari is the "Elder Goddess of Darkness, Undeath and Vampirism. Associated with bats, liches, vampires and undead" (S101). In the depths of the ancient forests of Arne'Athosia, a Necruspex of Teneb'Vari, the god-spirit that serves her as an Ascendant serves a younger god, lies imprisoned in the ruined elven capital Alyr-Emuien. "Its ancient prison is failing. Corruption from the Necruspex is spreading and making nearby parts of the forest very dangerous. The prison was constructed by Kalar himself, and there is no one now who knows how or has the power to reinforce or repair it" (S053). The forbidden part of the forest "is noticeably darker", and Teneb'Vari's cultists have "created a large underground network in the forbidden zone" linking several shrines and temples. The cultists are mostly corrupted Boreal Elves, "which looks a lot like a Dark Elf with bluish-slate colored skin", led by the Necruspex (S052, S053).
The Etterwood tribes guard the forbidden forest's edges. "Boreal Elven scouts are adept at leading / corralling monstrous entities into the southern forest edges": they lure corrupted creatures out at night and lead them south "which they use as a buffer with the Proturans" (S052).
The four stages of corruption¶
"Once corruption takes hold of a creature in the forbidden zone... Its hunger becomes insatiable and begins consuming more, especially blood. This fuels a growth in size" (S052). The stages are:
- Dark Feeder. Unchanged in body, "but has insatiable hunger and avoids light". Feeders generally stay in the forbidden parts of the forest.
- Dark Stalker. "Some physical changes and signs of corruption. Black ooze drips from broken flesh in places. It's hunger remains but it seems to have gained some control over its appetite. It returns to its bestial hunting practices and may hunt in packs."
- Dark Raver. "Final stages of the physical transformation. It is in constant pain and only blood and death can satiate it. It cares little for its own life at this point and single mindedly seeks relief."
- Dark Scourge. "Its transformation is completed when it dies. Death can either be at the hands of others or is forced by the transformation process... At this point it becomes an undead and is under the direct control of the spirit of Teneb'Vari. Intelligence improves and it develops into a cunning, ruthless and absolutely evil minion of Teneb'Vari."
The details of the transformation "are specific to species" (S052). A mortal who bears the mark of Teneb'Urat, the goddess's twin brother, is "particularly susceptible to corruption... BUT full minions of Teneb'Vari will not attack him unless attacked" (S052).
The Scourged beasts¶
The corruption notes list Scourged giant toads, giant stags, treants, wolves, bears, snakes and spiders (S052). The encounter rolls of the forbidden forest add Scourged gorillas, panthers, elk, phase and wolf spiders, vampire bats, ravens and boggarts, Scourged Boreal Elves, and a Scourged Eel in the enchanted waters of Lake Lienne (S056). A scourged toad "joined the battle and turned the tide" when the Proturan party fought the Boreal Elves, and a beastmaster among them was able to send it away without a fight (S054).
Scourged kobolds1 and Scourged Boreal Elf shamans and archers served the cult at the Temple of Kae-Ferrel, where "4 kobolds + 2 boreal elves" were found "trying to animate a dead dragon": two Scourged Kobold Warriors, two Scourged Kobold Shaman, a Scourged Boreal Elf Archer, and a Scourged Boreal Elf Shaman "possessed by an Eye of Teneb'Vari", all under a Scourged Treant Guardian (S056, S055). The cult "have acquired an artifact. One of the claws of Vixseranyol. They are using it with an ancient dragon skeleton to animate a red bone dragon", work shared with the Cult of the Dragon, with whom Teneb'Vari "has a secret pact" (S052).
A Scourged Giant Snake "makes it lair in the 'failure' tunnels below the maze" of the Paths of the Dead at Kae-Ferrel "and can strike many parts of the maze from them", and "A giant scourged serpent makes his home" in the dwarven tunnels that run from the Dwarven Gate of Anoth-Urulien toward the Underdark (S053, S056). A corrupted wolf pack dens in the Urulien Citadel, "with quite a set of spoils from its kills" (S056).
Gap
The Eye of Teneb'Vari is named only as the thing possessing a shaman; what it is, how it is bestowed and whether it is the same as the goddess's own sight is not said. No source describes what a Scourged toad or stag looks like beyond the general stages.
Growths of the forbidden forest¶
Blackroot Vines are the corrupted plants of the ruins: "Corrupted Blackroot Vines spring from the ground and try to hold and consume flesh", and the corrupted Moradrim ghost mages of the Tower of Urulien summon them (S056). Elk Feeders hunt the approaches to the shrines; a party of rangers "ran into two Elk Feeders which killed a digger before anyone could even react" (S053). WitchLight Will-o'-Wisps wander the forest "with a pack of animated Dead", and ordinary will-o'-wisps or Scourged boggarts "will try to lure players to their doom in nearby pits, bogs or scourged wildlife" (S056).
The Tenebrians and the undead of the ruins¶
The ruins of Anoth-Urulien hold corrupted things that are not beasts. "The Bound Warden: A High Elf Champion Protector (Vampire) corrupted by Teneb'Vari. He wanders the city." At the Limeris Dam "A semi-insane corrupted Boreal Elf Vampire makes his home" who trades information by day and drains the lone by night; in the Tower of Urulien the hastily buried mages of the Moradrim "have been corrupted by Teneb'Vari. These dark ghost mages now wander the ruins (esp at night) and will kill any living creatures they come across. Destroying them is only a temporary solution as they will respawn after a few days" (S056). The Whispering Chamber of Kae-Ferrel "is now an echo-chamber for Teneb'Vari which enhances her Corruption/Suggestions" (S053). The living Tenebrians, the serpent-worshippers of Teneb'Urat, are a different matter and belong to Peoples; their serpents are under Beasts.
In Play¶
The Scourged were the hazard of the Proturan party's expedition into the Etterwood for the Claw of Vixseranyol and the Seed of Caerylas (S053, S057, S059); see the Proturan campaign. A traveller should expect the Feeders at the edge, the Stalkers in packs further in, and the sound of battle to draw "a BIG monster from the forbidden zone" (S053).