Infernal Train (3.5e Elder Evil)

Background


It is not known how the massive construct known as the Infernal Train came into being. Many creatures are blamed, from mad gods of destruction to primal forces spontaneously forging into a force of destruction.


 * Knowledge Arcana DC 30: Given its mechanical appearance and it's minions' association with polution and toxins, the Infernal Train is thought to be a relatively recent creation which was born to fulfill the purpose of its possibly now non-existent and long forgotten master.
 * Knowledge Arcana DC 40: Summary::The Infernal Train exists for one purpose: to unmake creation and return all to oblivion. It travels through space and time, waiting for some trigger to call it towards a planet.
 * Knowledge Arcana DC 45: As the Infernal Train's presence draws closer, shadows of itself begin to appear, traveling over the land, waters, and skies of the world, and in doing so wiping it clear of civilization, life, and reality itself. No one knows from what dimension it draws itself from, but all some suspect that the vicious black polution associated with its minions is actually a form of shadowstuff from the Plane of Shadow.
 * Knowledge The Planes 40: Is it possible that the Plane of Shadow is attempting to devour the Material Plane's reality, making it as "unreal" and erratic as the Shadow Plane, or is there something deeper?
 * Knowledge History DC 40: And is it true that the Infernal Train appears when the populace of the world begins to forget their own past?

Goals
The Infernal Train desires nothing more than the complete and utter dissolution of creation. It works its desire like peeling layers off an onion. First it brings disasters and ruin to the most complex civilizations and environments in the world. Then less complex environments begin to break down, destroying the environment and purging it of complex life forms, then simple life forms, and then breaking down the bonds of reality itself like some sort of acid eating away at the world. Eventually, even the most hardy and "real" creatures and objects will dissolve, leaving nothing but the Infernal Train in a sea of darkness.

Infernal Train in the Campaign
The Infernal Train is less of a villain and more of an unstoppable cosmic force which seems to appear when there has been a massive amount of accidental or purposeful forgetting of the past. This often results after a major disaster; rather than remember the atrocities and suffering of the past, the populace forgets the past and all that which has happened before. It is then that the ruinous beasts appear, beginning the long dismantling of the realm through destruction and corruption. By spreading their vile sludge and obscuring the land with darkness, they provide tracks for the Infernal Train to briefly break through reality, a process which traumatically destroys the environment and leaves a half-real void in its wake.

Description
The Infernal Train is a massive locomotive of titanic proportions, shaped like a massive gothic cathedral, as wide as several city blocks and as long as a city. This massive construction is all black wrought iron, stained glass, and massive smokestacks that belch fire and smoke. Below it where wheels should be, a dripping layer of black slime exists which rains across the land below, despoiling all it touches. Its presence in real space warps reality, causing visible distortions, redshifting, and chronological aberrations. Space in its wake is transformed into a strange void with bits of the former reality floating within, slowly disintegrating into nothingness. It is devoid of gravity, devoid of logic, and soon devoid of existence. And perhaps worst of all is that those destroyed in its wake are truly forgotten, evidence of that which has been destroyed vanishing from the history books, leaving blank pages and patchy memories.

Sign
Sign::Unmaking the World This sign heralds the presence of the train as it moves through the land, erasing creation and with it the memory of its existance. The land is despoiled, and soon after, people begin to experience loss of memory. In higher-level stages, creatures which are forgotten cannot be raised or resurrected and all knowledge checks and divinations about their existence fail.

Faint: Lush forests begin to decay and cities seem somehow more gritty and slimy than usual. Minor appearances by low level ruinous beasts appear rarely. The DCs for Knowledge checks greater than 30 are raised by 5.

Moderate: Visible signs of decay and ruin are apparent. Things which fall out of use seem to rust and entropy much faster than they should. Ruinous beast attacks become more frequent. The DCs for Knowledge checks greater than 20 are raised by 10.

Strong: Black tar begins to cover the landscape regularly; cities are in ruins and forests are dying. Occasional "glitches" in reality produce areas of unusual physics. High-level ruinous beasts appear more frequently. The DCs for Knowledge checks greater than 10 are raised by 20. Creatures that have died and things that are destroyed are erased from the minds and history of others unless the deleted creature or object succeeds on a DC 25 Will save.

Overwhelming: The sky grows dark and the land itself starts to become undone, often resulting in floating platforms and twisted geometry. Everything is rusted and all doors are locked. Ruinous beasts are everywhere, black tar covers the land, and the train itself appears in the sky, boring through the remains of the world. The DCs of all Knowledge checks are raised by 30. Creatures which have died and things that are destroyed are erased from the minds and histories of others unless the deleted creature or object succeeds on a DC 35 Will save.

Malefic Properties
Anathematic Secrecy: Immune to all divine divination spells and effects.

Impervious to the Divine: The elder evil is immune to all divine spells, whether from a spellcaster or a magic item. It is also immune to spell-like and supernatural abilities of extraplanar creatures and deities.

Encounter Information
Those who manage to find the location where the Infernal Train travels and climb aboard are faced with an entire dungeon, full of nasty threats and countless ruinous beasts. At the end of this tortured path lies the source of the darkness consuming the world, a being known as... the Engineer.