The Brood



The Brood were a deadly species of parasitic worms that existed on the outskirts of the scattered worlds. They were removed from existance by The Prime Party in the Trials of Ysgalth

Physical Traits
The brood are easily identified by 3 factors. The first is the second set of eyes, black as night, that lie on the side of their heads. These eyes allow the brood to share images and information with each other from across the planes. Anything seen through a brood’s second set of eyes seen by the thousands (millions?) of brood across the scattered worlds. Meeting one brood means that you have been seen by them all. This extra set of eyes is also connected to their ability to receive instruction from brood beacons (see below). If the eyes are destroyed the brood has no way to access the shared memories or receive instruction and will often go mad.

Other features of the brood include a white, almost rubbery skin. This is easily hidden by brood infiltrators with basic disguise skills. Finally, the brood have long retractable teeth that tends to warp and stretch their mouth and jaw. These are usually hidden until the brood are physically attacking or are attempting to intimidate.

The brood reproduce by assimilating or infecting host body. A normal brood will grow 1d10 brood larva in its stomach every month. If these are not extracted regularly, the “parent” brood can swell and eventually explode. The larva resembles small white centipedes about 4 inches long. The larvas are blind and unable to act on anything other than instinct. If the larva enter a living body (animal, humanoid or other) it will almost certainly be infected (Fortitude DC 30) and transform into a brood within 12 hours. The new brood keeps its personality, skills and memory that it had but will do anything to help the growth and wellbeing of the brood hive. The brood’s actions are usually dictated someway by one of the many brood beacons in the scattered planes. These creatures are massive and relay information from an unknown source out to brood soldiers and infiltrators from worlds away.

Trials of Ysgalth
The brood where one of the first dangers of the scattered planes that the prime party met. 3 of them where intercepted on the God Isle of Granthunk, the husk of an ancient god that was occupied by the Githyanki. The party watched as the isle was invaded by Bloat Zeppelins and the Githyanki on the isle were infected or killed within an hour. The group managed to kill one of the weaker Brood but not before it had seen that they possessed not only the Amulets of Ysgalth, but the Planer Map

The Brood appeared again in the following instances:


 * The group encountered several brood on The Plank who had infected many of the high ranking sorcerers who maintained the Golden Sun. Once the brood was aware of the party’s presence, they infected all of the inhabitants of The Starboard Tavern. The party was able to defeat them but was unable to stop the brood planted on the Plank from altering the Golden Sun to steer the Plank directly into a waiting brood armada.
 * Party member Reddd’s world was destroyed by a sudden Brood attack. Reddd managed to escape by sliding down a Bloat Zeppelin into one of the portals the Brood arrived through.
 * Father Thomas in Old Mineral was an infected brood. He was killed by the party once they realized this though.
 * An alternate of the party who had been infected by The Brood were encountered in the Tournament of Many. The brood-party killed Misandra Moonblood’s original party, but were eventually defeated by the prime party.

Behind the Screen (Robin)
Original Origin for the Brood: The Brood were created by Doctor Lyeleaf and Professor Tomrrow and Clem (Danny’s Clit Char). In the explosion of temporal energy with the defeat of Gadrialthal,  Universe B's Clem and Antonious Tomorrow traveled both back in time and were flung to a plane in the scattered worlds called Hyrant. Clem and Antonious met Lyeleaf and together the three of them worked to create technology to help the land of Hyrant. One of these projects was a way to engineer a biological creature that would enter into humanoids brains and provide them with shared knowledge (like the babel fish from Hitchhikers Guide meets Google). Things went horrible wrong in the process and the Brood was created. Professor Tomorrow was infected and Lyleleaf fled as Hyrant fell under the quickly reproducing new species. Clem stayed behind and, using her ice powers, trapped the entire plane in a frozen ice age. Some of the brood managed to escape, however. Clem is still in the frozen city of Hyrant and sort of rules over it like a darker version of whasshername from frozen. I had plans to have Hyrant be one of the planes the group went to where they found out the origins of the brood, but the entire M&M alternate-reality crossover thing was just too messy and confusing.

 

The Brood were supposed to be this really awesome main villain for the campaign but it just didn’t work out. There were too few plane jumps to have them randomly show up and be scary. I still like the idea though.



If the party had ever returned to New Mineral, it would have been in the beginning stages of a Brood Invasion