The Dissonant Spires are a work of cruel fiction, a testament to the intent and will of something far older, far more intelligent, and far more vile than anything we can hope to personally comprehend - Shuriig, known to many as the Eldest Evil. The presence of these spires acts as an antenna to Shuriig’s nightmarish influence, projecting twisted patterns on the surrounding world to reshape it in accordance to its horrific will.
The exact method used to start these spires off is unknown, even by those who choose to align and barter with Shuriig for the means to spread them. The memory is simply wiped from their minds, or their perception of time altered by the Eldest Evil, to prevent them from knowing how exactly the things propogate. Perhaps a defense mechanism, or perhaps something else. Whatever the case, it is distinctly wrong. The spire brings to mind some kind of alien, metallic tree, with thick vine-like growths spiraling together from roots in the ground up into branches and ultimately, a pointed tip. The entire structure produces an audible hum in a disonnant key, just loud enough to be distracting but not so loud as to be deafening.
Eldritch Designs
A Dissonant Spire is a structure with immunity to all non-magical damage, and resistance to all magical damage except for magical bludgeoning, necrotic, and thunder damage. If the spire would take necrotic damage, it instead regains hit points equal to the damage taken, and increases its damage threshold by 10 until the end of the damaging creature’s next turn. The spire grows one size every week until it Gargantuan, after which it takes a further three months until it is considered Colossal. Once it’s Gargantuan in size or larger, it additionally gains immunity to critical hits.
The spire’s damage threshold (DT) determines the minimum damage the spire needs to take from a single attack or damaging effect before it takes damage. If the damage is less than the specified amount, the spire instead takes no damage as it is simply too hard to breach otherwise.
Provided the spire’s heart is intact, the spire additionally regains 10 hit points at the beginning of each new round of combat while in initiative. The heart cannot be targeted by any attack or spell until it has been revealed. The heart itself has 1 hit point, shares the spire’s AC and damage threshold, but is immune to all damage except for piercing and lightning.
Destroying the Spire
The spire cannot be destroyed as long as its heart remains intact and attached. The spire’s heart can only be accessed under specific circumstances. Normally, the heart can only be found once the spire’s hit points have been reduced to 0. While it has 0 hit points, the protective shell that hides the heart is considered to be exposed, permitting creatures to target it normally. If the heart is not destroyed when the spire regains hit points, it can no longer be targeted until the spire is returned to 0 hit points.
Alternatively, if the spire has at least 1 hit point remaining, a creature may make an Intelligence (Investigation) check against the spire’s Heart DC. On a success, the creature and all its allies have advantage on attack rolls against the spire, and once the spire is reduced to half its current HP or lower, the heart is exposed and can be targetted normally.
Lastly, if the heart is exposed, rather than dealing damage to it, a creature can attempt to rip it out of the spire by force. The creature must make a Strength (Athletics) check against the spire’s Heart DC, ripping the still-beating heart out on a success.
Once the heart is destroyed or removed, the spire loses its ability to regenerate and rapidly dissolves quickly over the course of the next hour into a pool of mercurial fluid. If this fluid contacts a creature’s skin either directly or through clothes, the creature immediately makes a DC 30 Sanity saving throw or gain the following flaw:
“Shuriig speaks to me in my nightmares. I must spread its influence. I must build more spires.”
If the heart has not been destroyed, it attempts to grow a new spire over the course of the next three days.
Harmonic Dissonance
As much as the sight of a spiraling tree made of unknown metals is terrifying to many, it is not the sight of the spire that is truly harrowing. It is the dissonant melody that it produces throughout the day, a discordant buzz that registers on the mind like a noxious odor but not so powerfully as to overpower your senses. Not immediately, at least. A creature with an Intelligence score of 3 or higher perceives this disharmony with each of their senses in unusual ways.
Corrosive Influence
Once every 24 hours, whoever controls the spire may send a telepathic command (as an action) to a warforged or construct within the area of effect. The target makes a Wisdom saving throw, using the spire’s Heart DC to determine a success. On a failure, the target is compelled to follow the command. The target breaks free of the command 24 hours later.
Crimson Rot
Fresh food spoils within the hour within the area of effect. Spoiled food fast develops the Crimson Rot, which causes the food to seem appetizing (though this does not change the taste, most creatures interpret it as tasting sweeter). Crimson Rot can continue to spread even beyond the spire's initial area of influence if capable of doing so, spreading throughout dark and damp spaces at a rate of 5 feet per day. A chamber fully covered in rot begins to produce airborne spores, afflicting creatures that breath the rot just the same as creatures that eat it.
Consuming this afflicts a creature with the Rotting condition after they complete their next long rest as they slowly die from the inside out. The affliction discourages thoughts that would lead the effected creature to seek help, and instead encourages them to eat more.
While afflicted, at the end of each hour, a creature rolls a d4 for each time they’ve consumed crimson rot. The creature’s maximum hit points are reduced by the amount rolled. If this reduces the creature’s hit points to 0, the creature dies. Creatures who touch the afflicted with their bare skin or share meals with them become afflicted themselves.
The affliction can be removed by casting
greater restoration on the target, or by using magic or similar effects capable of curing reductions to the target’s maximum hit point value.
Dimensional Seal
Within the area of effect, all conjuration magic and any other effect that involves teleportation or planar travel is blocked. Attempts to use any of these effects results in failure, and the resource being wasted. Once the Spire reaches Gargantuan size, a 20 foot diameter gate opens at its base connecting to an unknown dark realm, believed to either be the Abyss or the Far Realm, permitting the free passage of demons and aberrations to and from the spire’s region.
Growling Stomaches
Creatures within the area of effect for an hour and with the ability to eat must make a Sanity check equal to the spire’s Heart DC. A creature under the effects of the
mind blank spell succeeds automatically. A creature under the effects of
feeblemind fails automatically. On a failure, they gain a form of short term madness that lasts for an hour: “I feel extremely hungry, no matter how much I’ve eaten. I’ll eat anything to fill the void, even if it’s gone bad.”
As long as the creature remains in the area of effect, the creature fails any further attempts to resist this short of spells or effects capable of removing madness, such as
greater restoration. Once a creature has resisted this effect three times, or once the creature has been magically cured of the effect, they are immune for the next 24 hours.
Negative Disharmony
A creature that dies in the area of effect is reanimated as an undead creature under the GM’s control 1 minute later. Once reanimated this way, the creature cannot be brought back to life by any means other than a wish or by divine intervention. The undead follow the commands of whoever controls the spire. Most creates are reanimated as death’s heads, zombies, or skeletons, but the exact undead conjured by this effect are chosen at the GM’s discretion.
Twilight Sepulcher
The area of effect is suffused with hazy twilight. Sunlight cannot penetrate the area, and magical light is extinguished at the end of the turn it was produced. Creatures with sunlight sensitivity ignore this trait while in the area of effect.
Additionally, undead creatures, fiends, and aberrations have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide within the area of effect.
