horror mark question

[Pimpa]

I have problems with grasping the concept of horror marks. So let's say a horror marks a PC, then leaves, goes into hiding, and harasses the victim PC from a distance. How can the PCs find the horror?

[ragbasti]

well, there are several ways of doing it:

1. Research, find out where it is through a long period of searching for it
2. The Detect Horror Knack of the Bear Mark Talent
3. Bulgathor
(4. GMs discretion - anything you find plausible for your campaign)

Generally the main problem should be to kill that horror, especiallyif it's gone into hiding. If your group does not yet have means to attack a horror's astral form then you are basically screwed if it's a horror with a dual-nature

[Pimpa]

Unfortunately, there's no horror stalker character in the party (the PCs started from a closed kaer, so there were some disciplines I ruled out).

The situation is the following: In the upcoming session the PCs will come to the aid of a small village where the recently deceased return from the grave as cadaver men. The reason: the village established its cemetery next to a pre-Scourge crypt complex and there is a gharmek dwelling in the depth of this complex. After some good old undead-bashing and crypt-crawling the PCs find the gharmek. Since they are at the beginning of circle two, they will be no match for it if they choose to face it. (This is our first Earthdawn campaign and this will be the first time they face a horror.) But the gharmek decides not to destroy them, it sees them as a source of entertainment. So he uses all his powers to inspire terror in the characters, beats them half-dead, marks one of them, and then leaves the scene.

So this is why I asked, because probably they will want to find this gharmek later on in order the free this PC from the mark, but I have difficulties devising potential ways to enable them to do so.

[topramen]

A few suggestions:

1. If they know about the mark they can seek out a horror stalker for assistance.
2. The horror could show up from time to time and use the group for more amusement...possibly adding a new mark every time.
3. Preforming ritual that would help in location the horror
4. Getting information from a great dragon that may know, or have heard of, where the horror is hiding. Maybe it is hiding out in his territory and he wants the group to remove it.

[Telarus_KSC]

I'd add:

- Get a Nethermancer to research the type of Horror, & inform them of the gharmek's undead creation ability.
- Ask the Troubadours about other Undead uprisings.
- Track each one down to investigate.

You can go further (I do this a lot with Horrors) and individualize a Horror's use of a power to give it a signature trait, that can later be detected via viewing Astral Space, an item given to the Players, or another McGuffin. Horrors should NEVER carbon copies of each other (that's what Constructs are for). Even individual Bloatforms and Wormskulls are highly individualized things, with their own desires and games a-foot..

I mostly take this from the section under the Horror Mark power which says, "When perceived astrally, a Horror mark appears as a small stain on the victim’s pattern. The texture and design of this stain are unique to the Horror whose mark it is."

[ManDrake]

I think the problem you are having here is that you are assuming that the Gharmek will move onto another spot. For as long as it's being feed what it wants, there is no reason for it to leave. It would likely remove the PC's from it's lair once it's finished and just stay there. I'd probably take along one NPC for the adventure as well. So the Gharmek can kill them and when the PC's wake up, it could have the NPC attack them as a Cadaverman. Just too send the message if you do this again, one of you won't make it back next time or all of you. As for the Horror Mark, I don't know that I'd make that a guaranteed event. Sometimes the fear of the Horror Mark is more effective than the Horror Mark itself. The Gharmek are known for hiding, so make it possible that the PC's walk right past it and never find it. Maybe put a minor Horror like a Gnasher or something in the crypt as the major first battle. Confuse the players on what they are trying to defeat. Make it into a multiple trip crypt-crawl. The players think they've won and they haven't really won anything. Remember the Gharmek gathers it's life energy from the horror of people reacting to the undead. Going into violent fits of rage to destroy the undead is exactly what it wants. Powerful PC's experiencing that over and over again inside it's lair is a feeding frenzy for it. Have a crypt adventure, then a couple of others and then then the crypt is a problem again. Have the Horror add and remove walls in the Crypt to change the layout just enough to confuse the players. It may not be physically possible for them to get to the Gharmek in any of the configurations until they realize what is changing and how.

Oh something I experimented with with the Gharmek, Cadaver Beasts. And yes it's as scary as it sounds. Basically making undead monsters as well as people. Another experiment I did, actually with most horrors, is the ability to offload the blood magic cost of cadavers to horror marked victims. Players find people on the verge of death and they have to investigate what happened to them. It allows the Gharmek to expand it's Armies to obscene sizes. Seeing Cadaver men carrying bodies of large animals to the crypt or find the Cadaver Beasts out in the country side investigating another issue. Searching it back to it's source realizing that you have a much larger problem than you thought in the crypt.

I guess what I'm saying is that you could make this into a massive adventure on a grand scale. So don't limit yourself like this. And don't jump to the Horror Marking immediately. Finding the Horror Lair for this case should be easy, finding the Horror within the Lair should be a complicated quest. The battle to limit the Gharmek's growing power and influence should build the players up into 4 or 5th circle Adepts that can actually stand a chance in a fight against the Gharmek. A Gharmek is one of the best first Horrors you can pick for a Earthdawn Campaign. So you are definitely on the right track.

[Pimpa]

Wow, thx guys for the feedback, very useful! I especially like the ideas of Telarus and ManDrake. ManDrake, I think you are right that the Gharmek lacks motivation for leaving its cozy lair. It wouldn't flee a few second circle adepts. But I was thinking that it may think its hiding place has been compromised and while the PCs aren't strong enough to defeat it, stronger heroes may follow, so it decides to find a safer home. But I'll probably choose your scenario, maybe make the crypt complex more massive than I planned initially. As for the first major battle, I think I'll go with a demiwrath.

[treorai]

[ManDrake]

Well the great thing about the Gharmek is that it doesn't have any powers like that. The Horror Mark and Terror are it's primary powers. And it's not a spell caster. But it can animate Cadaver Men at great ranges.

[The_Gun_Nut]

That's just your standard, by the book Gharmek. No reason a custom one couldn't have those powers. Adjust the legend award appropriately, and voila, new Horror.