Marrowtremble Mound

[MindForge]

Marrowtremble Mound
The Marrowtremble is a large stone that juts 12 feet out of the ground and stands cylinder-like with a girth of 4 grown men hand to hand. It justs out from center of a hilltop surrounded by ruins and piles of stone - although only stone remains. Broken tombstones, monuments, and mausoleums cover the hill, as if stuck in the hill like the rotted teeth of a corpse. Some of these monuments on closer inspection appear to be built of older chunks of tombstones and other monuments.

It attracts undead to it like moths to the lantern. Undead gain intelligence when near the stone. Along with this intelligence comes a need to build near the place and erect monuments to the dead. Some dead are even driven to travel miles, hundreds of miles if needed, to gather a single tombstone and return to aid in the construction of new monuments.

The Marrowtremble Stone itself hides a terrible and dangerous secret to the undead that are drawn to it. Heroes that combat undead near it will find themselves rejuvinated and empowered. If enough undead are slain near the stone this effect can empower them in battles against undead for long periods of time.

Real stats to come soon along with some more tidbits of information.

[MindForge]

The Marrowtremble
The Marrowtremble is a large stone that juts 12 feet out of the ground and stands cylinder-like with a girth of 4 grown men hand to hand. It justs out from center of a hilltop surrounded by ruins and piles of stone - although only stone remains. Broken tombstones, monuments, and mausoleums cover the hill, as if stuck in the hill like the rotted teeth of a corpse. Some of these monuments on closer inspection appear to be built of older chunks of tombstones and other monuments.

It attracts undead to it like moths to the lantern. Undead gain intelligence when near the stone. Along with this intelligence comes a need to build near the place and erect monuments to the dead. Some dead are even driven to travel miles, hundreds of miles if needed, to gather a single tombstone and return to aid in the construction of new monuments.

The Marrowtremble Stone itself hides a terrible and dangerous secret to the undead that are drawn to it. Heroes that combat undead near it will find themselves rejuvinated and empowered. If enough undead are slain near the stone this effect can empower them in battles against undead for long periods of time.


Lore
Knowledge of The Marrowtremble can be found in both religious and arcane texts. You must succeed on the following Knowledge (arcane) or Knowledge (religion) checks in order to obtain lore on the Marrowtremble Mound.

DC 15: Over an eon ago there was a necropolis called Marrowtremble that stood near , this place was lorded over by powerful undead and a great empire was formed. It was destroyed long ago, at least 600 years ago.[I]

DC 20: Marrowtremble was home to undead of every kind and some types that have never been seen again. Within the great necropolis true intelligence reigned and it was considered the Black Age of the Undead (which could be translated as a golden age for humans). Humans were raised in farms and fed to undead nobles like cattle. Then from within, their decadence and ignorance to human will saw the rise of a holy order of light. Within this order, a priest warrior named Israfil would become a curse on lich lips and vampires would shudder at the mere mention of his name. For years, the order grew. The undead tried to stomp it out but it just grew and grew, then in desperation the undead masters ordered that every living thing be brought to the center of the necropolis and slain against a magic pillar created to empower the undead.

DC 25: War raged and the losses were great on both sides. Then in one swift and calculated move, the leader of the holy order Israfil was captured, some say he surrendered to spare the lives of the rest of the humans. He was taken to the stone and hung. He was tortured for days, through magic, steel, and fire. Then with one final breath, he whispered a single word. With this word of faith, light from heaven encompassed him and the stone. In this moment the humans took hope to their heart and waged a battle so fierce that the undead were ash by sunset. Israfil was never found.

DC 35: It is known if any creature good of heart stands with his back to the stone and battles against undead, he will find the power to prevail. The stone grants powers and this power becomes even greater if one has the fortitude to stand their ground. Israfil sacrificed himself to imbue good within the black stone that is now known as the Marrowtremble, named after the city of dead that once stood mighty and powerful.

Description
The Marrowtremble is a large stone that juts 12 feet out of the ground and stands cylinder-like with a girth of 4 grown men hand to hand. It justs out from center of a hilltop surrounded by ruins and piles of stone - although only stone remains. Broken tombstones, monuments, and mausoleums cover the hill, as if stuck in the hill like the rotted teeth of a corpse. Some of these monuments on closer inspection appear to be built of older chunks of tombstones and other monuments.

Prerequisite
The prerequisites for the powers of the Marrowtremble Mound are different depending on if you are undead or not.
The powers granted to the undead only require that you are undead.
The more beneficial powers granted require that you only be good of alignment.

Activation
The undead powers are gained simply by being undead and within a mile of the stone. These undead powers are not activated, they are automatically granted.

Recharge
The Marrowtremble Mound is charged through the negative energy released by destroying undead. It takes 20 HD of undead destroyed to create one charge and only one charge can be held at a time within the stone. Once released it can begin charging instantly.

Special Abilities (Undead)
Dark Intelligence (Su): Any undead creature that remains within 1 mile of the stone for 24 hours gains +1 Int. Undead also gain a magic bonus to a knowledge or craft skill of +10. This skill will allow the undead to perform a specific skill in rebuilding the necropolis. At the same time, any undead in the area can be dominated by the control power with a cumulative -5 to save for every +1 Int gained from the stone. Dark Intelligence can stack up to 5 times (not including the bonus knowledge skill).
Marrowtremble Control (Su): Marrowtremble is a bit twisted and forces undead in the area to fall under its control. It will force undead to rebuild fortifications and rebuild the once great necropolis that stood here. This power is equal to the dominate spell at 20th level strength. It can only affect undead within one mile. There is no limit to the number of undead it can control.

Special Abilities (Good)
Locked within the stone is the soul of a great priest, he grants powers to heroes that come within 100' of the stone and are combating undead.
Israfil's Might (Su): Any good creature that deals damage to an undead creature gains a +1 to attack, damage, turn strength and spell strength for 1 minute. It can stack up to 5 times for a total of +5. Every time damage is dealt the duration is extended 1 minute (up to 5 minutes).
Israfil's Gift (Sp): Any good creature that gains a +5 from Israfil's Might gains this power. 1/day for 1 minute Israfil's Gift grants immunity to all undead supernatural (Su) and spell-like (Sp) abilities that directly target them. This does not include spells gained from classes the undead may have, but still pertains to any supernatural or spell-like abilities the classes may have granted.


Duration
Israfil's Gift lasts for 1 year.
The undead abilities are lost at the rate they are granted (-1 Int every 24 hours for example).

Aura: Faint to Strong Necromancy. When Israfil's Might or Israfil's Gift is applied to any character within range it radiates Strong Evocation for five minutes.

Ability Value: Hmmm...