The Cult of the Dread Name.

[TLDunn213]

While Shard Scape related this can be tweaked to fit into almost any word that has magic. Which is why it's over here in the Nursery.

It's a problem for the heroes to solve or can be just a background type of thing.

A Dark Wizard/Warlock Priest has made a Pact with an Unnameable Eldritch Horror from The Far Realms that allows for a very simple way to do magic. Well to make magic items with very little training needed.

Now of course there are a few minor downsides to this. But if you don't mind working with Eldritch Magic and becoming the Thrall of an Unnameable Horror from The Far Realms...

That's the whole bit with this If you know the Dread Name then you have a Mindseed of the Horror the Name belongs to and every time you use the Name it grows a bit stronger and has a bit more control over you.

The system is really simple. 

First you are taught how to draw the Symbol which is the Name distilled down into a single shape. At the same time you're taught how to say the Name. Not the full Name all at once but one syllable at a time. Then two syllables together and so on. Then when you have mastered that you drawn the Symbol in your own blood carefully speaking the Name so that you finish both at the same time. 

Thus the Pact is made a bit of your Soul/Mind is drained away and replaced with a bit of the Essence of the thing you just made a Pact with.

Now that a bit of its mind is available to you, you gain access to the knowledge of how to draw the Enchanting Circle and which Runes to use for which effect.

It's this instant learning that makes the whole thing seem so appealing to those that want power without having to work for it.

Now the Being you've made your Pact with isn't really all that Powerful compared to most of the big things out in The Far Realms which is why it want to come to our reality. It has two ways of achieving this. The first is to get someone Powerful enough to open a Portal/Gate and let it in. Most people Powerful enough to do that know enough to understand why doing so would be a very bad idea.

Thus option two wherein the Being drips into our reality a bit at a time until it has enough Thralls to open a Portal/Gate as a Group Ritual or possibly to eventually just be here because enough of it is here and all it needs to do is pull itself together and manifest a form.

Now if you just hear the Name you get a savings throw at advantage if you don't know it's a name or what it names. 

If you are being told that it is the Name of their master you still get a save assuming you didn't want to know the Name and/or you know that knowing the Name will bring you under it's sway.

You obviously don't get any save if you are learning the Name on purpose.

The Name can be used as an attack by Speaking the Name and putting Power behind it the Name will try to invade the minds of everyone who hears it. Now if you don't have enough Eldritch Power stored up for that The Name will drain your Lifeforce to power it's attempt to invade new minds.

 

 

Edited December 5, 2025 by TLDunn213

[Snypiuer]

I like this!

I'm assuming that, while not as powerful as other entities in the Far Realms, the being is still far too powerful for even a moderate sized group (let alone an individual) to be a vessel with the ability to host enough of its essence for it too simply fully inhabit in toto - thus the need for a portal/gate or a group large enough for it to manifest a form.

[TLDunn213]

That would be an accurate assumption.

I haven't given it a lot of thought but assume that a group would need to total somewhere between 1000 to 10,000 hit dice/levels for the entity to manifest enough to open a Portal from this side and fully enter our reality.

At which point the amount of Eldritch Magic pouring in would effectively turn our reality into an extension of The Far Realms.

 

Edited December 7, 2025 by TLDunn213

[Snypiuer]

Is there a possibility that the entity could actually fully enter this realm, but be so spread out through so many minds, that it would be unable to coalesce and open a portal or manifest a form?

If so, would it than, essentially, become a disincorporated force or energy magic users could tap into?

[TLDunn213]

The Dread Name is a Mindseed so anyone who knows the Name is drawn to anyone else who has it. And using the Name as a way to do magic causes the Mindseed to grow. 

It would be an enormous effort to get enough people to learn the Name and activity resist using it to achieve that level of dispersal and I'm not entirely sure what would happen if you did.

When someone who knows the Name dies the Mindseed will try to move to a new host. If that isn't possible it will imprint itself onto their remains or a nearby object. If that vessel is destroyed the Mindseed will dissipate.

The rate of dissipation will depend on environmental factors and can range from a few days to a few years. Assuming that the Mindseed can't find a new vessel.