In a distant land polluted by an alien menace from beyond the stars, a great cancer grows from within. As its tendrils reach out through the dreams of those who learn and study its existence, a sinister cult grows more active in preparing the way for a devastation that will destroy more than the minds of would-be heroes. Can the adventurers reclaim their lost memories in time to stop the advance of a cataclysmic contagion that could threaten all of Corwyn? Can they resist the mind-shattering truths revealed by the Yellow Sign, and the monstrous force it symbolizes? The Strange Aeons Adventure Path pits the heroes against the cosmic horrors of the Cthulhu Mythos, with new monsters, mind-shattering terrors, and explorations far beyond the known lands of Corwyn.
Many ages ago, a portal opened between Corwyn and Charos; the realm of Madness. That connection was made possible by the fanatical followers of Xhamen-Dor; one of the Great Old Ones who hailed from that terrible plane.
The cultists of the Old One claimed several sites as staging areas for this infestation, and at each one, raised triads of Star Stelae to link those sites back to their home city of Carcosa.
However, there was a terrible battle and the followers of Xhamen-Dor were driven off-world and only their huge obelisks remained. It was upon the site of one set of the Star Stelae that the human settlement of Thrushmoor was founded many millennia later.
The Cultists were more successful in their second site; and erected a star Stelae around what would one-day become the human city called “Neru-Zhavin.” But that city was doomed to oblivion, and when it fell to a mysterious invasion, all that remained were abandoned ruins.
For eons the city lay abandoned, and its name was largely forgotten. It became known only as the “nameless city,” and its infectious dreams and horrors were lost to
the mists of time. The entire region surrounding the city became known as the “Parchlands,” and it was considered cursed and was avoided by men.
For thousands of years, Neru-Zhavin lay a dusty ruin, until a group of nomadic Kashardi tribes discovered the ruins and began living there once again. The nomads re-named the city “Zangaro.” But eventually, that city, too, was destroyed, and once again its dark history was forgotten.
Recently, fragments of the city’s dark and enigmatic legend were unearthed by Baron Loris Hazelton. As the Baron of Thrushmoor, Loris had ample wealth and resources to fuel his obsession with the lost city of Neru-Zhavin, and spent many years searching for it obsessively. The Baron hoped to someday launch an expedition to the ruins and find the answers he had long sought.
During his research, Loris learned of a man named Zandalus who was plagued by dreams of a lost city featuring the same Stelae that stood in the midst of Thrushmoor. Fascinated by a possible link between Thrushmoor and this lost city, Loris spent most of his adult life buying every book he could find on the topic. But, in so doing, he fell under the influence of Hastur; the King in Yellow.
By day, the Baron researched his books and manuscripts. But by night, he learned far more in his dreaming expeditions, drawing ever closer to the terrible truth. Eventually he made contact with an enigmatic figure named the Mad Poet, who required Loris to sacrifice several allies in order to receive the knowledge he desperately sought.
Loris offered the dreaming minds of several ne’er do wells in his employ, which drove them mad with a potent form of amnesia. Satisfied, the Mad Poet told Loris the name of the city he sought was Neru-Zhavin, and that he would find its exact location in a book called the Necronomicon, which was held in a secret vault somewhere in the far-away city of Quelaara.
Soon after, Loris handed over his amnesiac agents over to Briarstone Asylum, gathered his treasured tomes and manuscripts, and travelled far to the south. The Baron now hopes to find the nameless city and bridge the gap between the world of Oris and the nightmare world of Charos.
PART-1; IN SEARCH OF SANITY
The PCs awake in a cell beneath Briarstone Asylum with no memory of how they got there or who they are. After a dangerous fight against the monstrous creatures roaming the asylum’s halls, the PCs discover other survivors who have taken refuge in Briarstone Temple. This group struggles to survive this waking nightmare, but can provide a safe retreat while the PCs find a way out. Aside from the monsters, the greatest danger is posed by a cult that has sprung up around a patient named Ulvar Zandalus, a man who has accidentally turned his nightmares into the horrible reality that suffuses Briarstone Asylum.
PART-2; THE THRUSHMOOR TERROR
A cult of Hastur has infiltrated the town of Thrushmoor and begun kidnapping and sacrificing the populace. The PCs arrive to discover the town gripped by terror as even their leadership has gone missing. Baron Loris Hazelton, the man responsible for committing the PCs to the asylum, skipped town just as this recent unpleasantness unfolded. The PCs must investigate what preys on the people of Thrushmoor, while exploring a town that remembers them even if they don’t recall their own past The PCs need to find who is kidnapping the townsfolk, investigate the missing Baron, and invade Baron Hazelton’ estate if they hope to survive long enough to figure out what happened to their memories.
PART-3; DREAMS OF THE YELLOW KING
By studying the books left behind in Baron Hazelton’s estate, the PCs discover that Hazelton had researched Neru-Zhavin in dreams via a ritual that sent his slumbering mind into the Dreamlands. On the Baron’s trail, the PCs travel to Stormhaven and do their own dream research during the long journey. As they encounter dangers on the water by day, they explore the Dreamlands by night. In their first excursion, the PCs arrive in an abandoned caravanserai where they meet a splinter of Baron Hazelton’s psyche who calls himself the Yellow King. From him they find out that they must appease the Mad Poet if they wish to learn what Hazelton was after. Once the PCs collect appropriate gifts during a number of horrifying dream quests, they return to the caravanserai to discover that the Yellow King has been locked away in a prison on the Dreamlands’ moon The PCs need to free the Yellow King if they wish to meet the Mad Poet and recover their lost memories
PART-4; THE WHISPER OUT OF TIME
With their memories restored, the PCs recall their checkered pasts working for Hazelton, but they also begin getting mysterious mental transmissions from someone (or something) trying to warn them of Hastur’s growing influence. They reach Quelaara to find the lab of Hazelton’s ally Makterian infested with Derro and the alchemist’s constructed guardians running amok. The PCs learn that Hazelton and Makterian have already moved on to Mombasa. On their heels, the PCs visit an enigmatic library called the Mysterium. Upon arrival, the PCs discover that Hazelton had visited recently and somehow set off the library’s defenses. Thinking that Hazelton might remain trapped within, the Director of the Mysterium pleads for the PCs to make sure that the Necronomicon is still intact Yet Hazelton continues to evade the PCs, having stolen the vile tome and fled to Mombasa to meet with an associate before heading into the Parchlands. The PCs have to maneuver the mean streets of Mombasa to locate the Gnoll slaver Biting Lash and infiltrate her fortress. There, the PCs encounter a yithian mind-swapped with an elderly slave—the source of the mysterious communications—who can help the PCs find Neru-Zhavin.
PART-5; WHAT GROWS WITHIN
Once again, Hazelton is a step ahead of the PCs, having claimed the Necronomicon and traveled to the Parchlands in Vilzar. The PCs brave the arid wasteland to reach the forsaken city of Neru-Zhavin, where the last vestige of the Great Old One Xhamen-Dor sleeps and infects the world with its sinister dreams. Although Neru-Zhavin’s streets appear abandoned, the city crawls with accursed life, including those who have survived one apocalypse—and would herald another. The PCs must track Hazelton’s party, recover the Necronomicon, find and reactivate the city’s Star Stelae, and perform a powerful ritual in order to follow Hazelton to Carcosa, where he might unwittingly deliver the world of Corwyn to the King in Yellow. However, as the PCs race to stop Baron Hazelton, they must take care that they do not awaken Xhamen-Dor or the flying polyps sealed beneath the city.
PART-6; BLACK STARS BECKON
The PCs follow Hazelton to Carcosa to sever the links between it and Corwyn. To start, the PCs must navigate the frozen ruins of an elder thing city while stalked by its mind-shattering horrors. The heroes then travel to a twisted shadow version of Neru-Zhavin, where they must assail the “Black Tower" to further untether Carcosa from Corwyn. Finally, in a skewed reflection of Thrushmoor, the Briarstone Witch opposes the PCs as she readies to escape Carcosa while the real Thrushmoor is devoured Time is not only running out—it’s unraveling! An unspeakable nightmare stirs in the depths of Lake Hali, and if the PCs fail, Thrushmoor and Corwyn are doomed to greet the King in Yellow.
