Dark Gift

A Dark Gift is an asset that Yog can bestow upon the Marked, Its chosen servants. Whenever it dispatches the Marked on a mission, Yog allows them, as a group, to choose one of these Dark Gifts to help them on their task. This may take the form of an item, an ally, an army or a blessing.

List of Dark Gifts

• Baleful Banishment: One villain can make a special touch attack that, if it succeeds, instantly banishes one enemy into Yog’s clutches.
• Black Battalion: The villains can requisition a battalion of soldiers, variable in number, drawn from Yog’s many legions.
• Dark Money: A slim rectangle of sheer obsidian, the “company card” grants the villains access to a near-infinite repository of wealth, to purchase whatever they need for their mission.
• Fanatic Followers: A dozen Yog-worshipping cultists can assist the Marked with their eldritch needs, performing rituals, summoning demons and communing with the profane.
• Forbidden Lore: An ancient grimoire that knows all secrets, the tome can answer three questions the villains put to it – or one question in greater detail.
• Foul Relic: To better complete their objective, the Marked can select one from hundreds of magical items, stored in Yog’s vaults.
• Profane Blessing: A surge of power through the Mark of Yog grants the villains a +10 bonus to one skill check for the next 8 hours.
• Shadow Network: A network of spies, already infiltrated within an organization, that can assist the villains in subtle ways.
• Summoning Stone: A hunk of black rock, etched with Yog’s symbol, that, when broken, will summon an Aspect of Yog to assist the villains in battle for a short time.
• Unholy Steeds: A team of demonic mounts that Yog breed specifically to the villain’s specifications, allowing them to cover great distances by land, air or sea.
• Unnatural Disaster: The Vessel’s power over the earth allows the villains a natural disaster – an earthquake, a thunderstorm, a blizzard – to ravage the landscape.

Campaigns

All Hail Yog

• The Child: When offered the choice, the four villains unanimously agreed to choose the Shadow Network. When infiltrating the Wombwood, they first employed the Gift to sway one of the Cymbian border guard to Yog’s side, granting them passage to Vaer Quethrolas. Once Princess Nimria was in their possession, the villains employed the gift again and sought the aid of the high elven ambassador, to teleported them to safety.
• The Watchtower: After some debate, the four villains eventually agreed on the Profane Blessing, reasoning that steeds were little use to a dragon and that they may acquire the use of the whole army through guile. They wound up activating the Profane Blessing on a lark to improve their eyesight but, despite this, it still proved insufficient to catch the fleeing Idele and prevent the Soulsworn’s escape.
• The Instrument: Though they were tempted by Forbidden Lore, the villains were ultimately most inspired by Unholy Steeds, reasoning they would need mounts to cover more ground in their search. They commissioned a team of bizarre goat-like reptiles, capable of swimming, climbing and running, with sharp curved horns and a gruesome projectile attack that fired Yog’s essence from their eyes like tears. They then proceeded to ride the creatures all across Cape Cowrie and even named them – Christine for Phantasmagoria, Geller for Ernst and Mortem for Desdemonia.
• The Covenant: It proved a difficult choice for the villains, between Baleful Banishment, Summoning Stone and Unnatural Disaster. Eventually, the latter won out, owing to Azathomet’s sunlight sensitivity. It was Desdemonia who triggered the effect from the roof of the Quorum, summoning an acidic snowstorm to whiteout the city of Thorp  and allow Skoura cover to wing across the city. All through the battle, the snow continued to rain down, dissolving some enemies and, more importantly, the corpses of the Covenant leadership. When the time came to flee, the snowstorm covered their escape from Patrician Plaza.
• The Ritual: It was once again a difficult decision for the villains to make, particularly between the Dark Money and the Fanatic Followers. The Forbidden Lore was dismissed early, both for its cageyness and the Houses of Enigma which they could peruse. The Marked ultimately chose the Fanatic Followers, though they would rue the choice the deeper into the task they delved, wishing they could simply rely on Yog’s wealth to purchase them their ingredients.