The War with Istatha V’Han, The Battle for Nekoya. Ages 315.
They had defiantly held against us for months, the Empress had had enough. Their repugnant religion, endless defiance, and the desecration they performed on our fallen had earned them the dreaded Nova Igniter. It would mean the complete end to this contested system.
Strangely, when we hurled the Nova Igniter into their star, not one of their ships made a move to stop it; the seemingly archaic sailing galleons with their sails flapping impossibly in the void of space, each one emblazoned with the sigil of their deity: that of three-pointed arrowhead crossed by a crescent.
At first we thought they did not realize that their doom was upon them.
Then the Nova Bomb struck home, sinking into the crushing pressures of stellar fusion. We cheered, for the end of our now hated enemy was in sight.
But the star did not explode in a cleansing nova, scouring space clean of this vile people that lay claim to it.
The star shook, it trembled.
Then, it glared.
The star glared at us.
Terrible eyes opened and a maw of flares like teeth opened.
And it began to pull us in. Like fish caught in a net, we found our ships being dragged helplessly into that gaping fusion maw.
Our captain was quick thinking. Even with our engines at unsafe levels, we could do no more than slow our plunge, but the stellar objects around us seemed unaffected.
He ordered us to set course for an asteroid, and to crash into it. We donned our vacuum suits and made ready.
The impact was not as terrible as I imagined. I guess that normal control systems cushioned it for us. I was thrown from my feet anyway.
The fleet died as one, from what those of us brave enough to peer over the horizon said, the star ate it in a single gulp. Imperial radio frequencies were awash in a terrible burst of static when they died.
As for the star, the eyes faded first, but it smiled. Smiled! That terrible crescent grin lingered on for days.
It was known as a Viceroy; one that was aligned with the element of fire, but we had no way of knowing that at the time.
We were forced to shut off our radios, and communicate by touching our helmets together.
The air had leaked away, and that terrible, inescapable war chant of those vile people filled every frequency.
It overwhelmed our transmitters. We could find no escape from the sourceless, omnipresent chant.
TYRANNON! TYRANNON! TYRANNON! TYRANNON! TYRANNON!
Throughout the Outer Planes, mages and spirits fear the name of Tyrannon. The Thousand-Headed God, mystics call him, and Sunmaker — or the Cosmic Cancer, or the Eater of Souls. Tyrannon’s most common epithet, however, is the title he chose for himself: the Conqueror. Tyrannon inspires such terror because he does not merely exile, enslave, or kill mystical foes. He eats them, and resurrects them as new incarnations of himself. The newest Great Power to arise in the Multiverse lives in hundreds of bodies at once, each one an extension of his unyielding will.
The trillions who suffer under Tyrannon’s rule do not know this, but Tyrannon began as a mortal mage just five centuries ago. He was born on a world called Thulkos. Mystics now use that name for the entire plane. Although matter in this dimension collected in circular loops rather than spheres, Thulkos resembled Earth in many ways. Life appeared on Thulkos billions of years ago and eventually evolved into a sentient race very much like Earth-humans. Unlike Earth, however, this dimension’s supernatural energies could act only through matter. Mystics practiced various sorts of alchemy or crafted magic items.
These supernatural energies spontaneously generated a thousand or so "gods." These elemental spirits remained formless and mindless, though they showed affinities for different types of matter or living creatures. Sometimes a god infused itself into matter for a brief incarnation. The Thulkosians regarded their mindless "gods" as natural disasters. Only the most powerful mystics could influence them.
Tyrannon became a spell-smith in an age of industrial magic. (Old Thulkosian technomagic bore similarities to the forge-alchemy of the Lemurians; the resemblance is probably coincidental.) He was not the most brilliant or powerful magus of his time, but he had enough skill to participate in his civilization’s most ambitious project. Dozens of spell-smiths, and hundreds of followers, set out to merge themselves with Thulkos’s elemental gods. They hoped to free their world from mindless divine rampages. They expected to become powerful, but not so mighty that Thulkosian spell-weapons could not defeat them. The spell-smiths crafted mighty talismans and rituals. Each participant fused with a god: spirits of fire and water, wood and earth, light and life, and many more.
Tyrannon merged with one of the most powerful gods. His strong will enabled him to master his powers quickly. Tyrannon liked his power and wanted more. He attacked a weaker mage-god, killed him, and stole his power and his soul. Now Tyrannon had even greater power, and a will strengthened by the subsumed spirit of his victim — and he wanted still more. He attacked a second weak mage-god and subsumed him as well. The more Tyrannon defeated and devoured, the more he hungered, until Tyrannon devoured most of the incarnate gods. Each spirit he consumed, however, eroded a bit more of Tyrannon’s own personality. Tyrannon the mage became Tyrannon the Conqueror.
The nations of Thulkos had prepared for several hundred man-gods with their own varied interests and loyalties. They were not ready for one creature with the power of several hundred gods. The Thulkosians and the remaining man-gods united to destroy Tyrannon... and failed. The Conqueror slaughtered billions in his conquest; he forced the survivors to worship him through more death and blood. The gods whom Tyrannon could not devour, he imprisoned, exiled to other planes, or drove into the far reaches of the Thulkosian universe.
Worship and sacrifice gave Tyrannon enough power to change reality itself. One world did not satisfy Tyrannon any more than one god’s power had. He warped Thulkos’s dimension to bring other inhabited worlds within his reach. The Conqueror spent a century reshaping and mastering his universe. He broke Thulkos’s ring-shaped star and reshaped the fragments into a new shape — spheres — that he used as shining prisons for eight defeated gods.
When Tyrannon ran out of worlds to conquer in his own universe, he turned his gaze on other dimensions. He learned to open gates to other planes and sent some of his bodies to conquer their inhabitants. Once he ruled another dimension, Tyrannon gathered all his many bodies into one form of incredible power. He ripped wide the barriers between realities and merged the other plane with Thulkos. The laws of Thulkos overwhelmed the natural laws of the other spaces, and their environments became copies of Thulkos’s own.
Eventually, Tyrannon encountered beings comparable to himself, who could fight back. Some were other conquerors and would-be conquerors. Others were merely powerful mystics determined to protect their homeworlds. No one, however, can block Tyrannon from every possible universe. The Conqueror seeks dimensions with high populations to worship him, but few powerful mystics to oppose him. In his endless search through the Multiverse, Tyrannon recently discovered a plane that seems ideal: Earth’s.
Earth offers the perfect balance for Tyrannon: a world rich in life and magical potential, yet lacking in beings powerful enough to resist his invasion. As he prepares to bring Earth into his dominion, the nightmares of psychically sensitive individuals and precognitives across the planet grow more intense, signaling the impending doom. The heroes of Earth must now rise to the challenge and find a way to stop the Conqueror before their world, too, becomes another conquered jewel in Tyrannon's dark crown.
The Conqueror’s insatiable hunger for power drives his every action. His ultimate goal is not merely to dominate but to transcend the very fabric of reality itself. Tyrannon seeks to conquer ever more of the Multiverse, gaining strength with each new victory. This relentless pursuit of power is a means to an even greater end: the complete unification of all dimensions into a singular, all-encompassing realm under his absolute control. To Tyrannon, the Multiverse is an intricate puzzle, and he sees himself as the only being capable of solving it. His vision extends beyond mere rulership; he aims to merge all dimensions into one, effectively collapsing the infinite diversity of the Multiverse into a single, homogeneous existence. In this unified realm, Tyrannon would not simply be a ruler but the embodiment of all reality. Every aspect of existence would be an extension of his will, making him omnipotent and omnipresent. Tyrannon's desire to absorb the Multiverse into himself is driven by a profound belief in his own superiority. He views the fragmented nature of the Multiverse as a flaw, a chaotic mess that only he can rectify. By unifying the dimensions, Tyrannon believes he will create a perfect, harmonious existence where his will is the sole guiding force. This god-like ambition underscores his delusion of grandeur and his insatiable thirst for dominance. Tyrannon's ultimate desire to become the sole existence in the Multiverse also reflects a deep-seated fear of mortality and limitation. By absorbing everything into himself, he seeks to eliminate any possibility of defeat or death. In his envisioned reality, he would be eternal, unchallenged, and unassailable. This absolute power, in his mind, is the only way to ensure his continued existence and fulfill his destiny as the Conqueror.
Tyrannon possesses the accumulated knowledge of every soul he has conquered and devoured, a vast repository of wisdom, skills, and secrets spanning countless dimensions and millennia. In theory, this makes Tyrannon one of the most knowledgeable beings in the Multiverse. Each consumed spirit adds to his collective intelligence, imbuing him with their experiences, expertise, and insights. However, the practical application of this immense knowledge is far from perfect. Despite his god-like power, Tyrannon has a notoriously unreliable memory. The vast amount of information he has absorbed over centuries is fragmented and often difficult to access. This inconsistency is exacerbated by the fact that none of Tyrannon’s forms carries all his knowledge. Instead, this information is distributed unevenly across his many bodies. Only Tyrannon's greatest forms, such as his primary Thrones, have significant access to the memories of his devoured victims. These forms can recall detailed knowledge and specific skills when necessary, making them incredibly formidable in specific situations. However, even these powerful incarnations do not have complete, instant recall of all the information Tyrannon possesses. They must sift through the fragmented memories, which can be a time-consuming and complex process. This fragmented memory serves as both a strength and a weakness. On one hand, it allows Tyrannon to tap into a nearly limitless well of knowledge when he needs it, tailored to the immediate challenges he faces. This ability, known as KS: Knowledge From Consumed Spirits, functions as a plot device, enabling Tyrannon to know whatever is necessary for the sake of an adventure or confrontation. This selective recall means that Tyrannon can pull out specific information relevant to the situation at hand, whether it's an ancient spell, a strategic insight, or a hidden secret of his adversaries. On the other hand, the selective nature of this recall means that Tyrannon does not have a broad or continuous awareness of all his accumulated knowledge. He might remember a crucial detail about a magical artifact during a critical moment but forget the intricacies of a political alliance he once manipulated. This limitation adds a layer of unpredictability to his actions and decisions, making him less omnipotent than he might appear. Furthermore, the fragmented and selective nature of Tyrannon’s memory means that he often relies on his minions and Duplicates to manage and retrieve information. These lesser forms are tasked with cataloging and organizing the vast amount of knowledge within his empire, further decentralizing the information and making it harder to access quickly. Tyrannon’s unreliable memory also plays a role in his interactions with other beings. He might underestimate an old adversary he has forgotten or fail to recognize the significance of an ancient prophecy buried deep within his subconscious. This vulnerability can be exploited by clever opponents who understand the limits of his memory and use it to their advantage.
While Tyrannon occasionally resorts to deception, these schemes are usually simplistic and transparent. He might disguise one of his Viceroys as a different creature to infiltrate an enemy stronghold or sow discord among his enemies. These disguises are typically crude, relying more on brute intimidation than subtle manipulation. The Viceroys, endowed with a fraction of Tyrannon’s power, are formidable in their own right and can enforce his will with little need for subtlety.
Another common tactic is to provide a magical superweapon to an ambitious but naive mystic. This weapon, while powerful, is often a double-edged sword designed to corrupt or consume its wielder. Tyrannon uses these mystics as unwitting pawns, unleashing them against his enemies and then reclaiming the weapon (and the mystic’s soul) once they have served their purpose. These superweapons are laced with dark magic that binds the user’s will to Tyrannon, ensuring their eventual downfall and servitude.
Tyrannon is also known for making grand promises to those who seek power. He might promise a would-be ally that they can rule a world in his name, but these promises are invariably hollow. The Conqueror never shares power; he only uses these individuals to further his own goals. Once their usefulness is exhausted, they are reduced to mere slaves, their ambitions crushed under the weight of Tyrannon’s domination. These false promises are a testament to Tyrannon’s disdain for those who believe they can bargain with him. In his eyes, they are tools to be used and discarded.
Tyrannon’s disdain for cunning and knowledge is rooted in his belief in the absolute supremacy of raw power. He sees his own strength as the ultimate solution to any problem. “Knowledge? Cunning? Tyrannon does not need such things. Tyrannon rules by power alone,” he declares, emphasizing his belief that brute force trumps all other forms of influence. This philosophy makes him both predictable and terrifying; his enemies know that he will come at them with overwhelming force, but they are often powerless to stop him.
Tyrannon’s directness and reliance on power create a culture of fear and submission among his followers. His minions know that failure is met with swift and brutal punishment, and success only brings temporary favor. This atmosphere ensures their loyalty, but it also fosters an undercurrent of fear and resentment. Many of Tyrannon’s supposed allies and slaves harbor a deep hatred for him, but they are too afraid to act against him.
For his enemies, Tyrannon’s methods are a double-edged sword. His predictable reliance on force allows them to anticipate his moves, but his sheer power often leaves them with few options for effective resistance. They must rely on their cunning and knowledge to outmaneuver him, exploiting the very qualities Tyrannon dismisses as weaknesses.
Tyrannon's approach to power is characterized by his reliance on raw strength and his disdain for cunning and deception. While he occasionally uses simple tricks to further his goals, these tactics are secondary to his primary strategy of overwhelming force. His belief in the supremacy of power shapes his interactions with both allies and enemies, creating a culture of fear and submission within his ranks and presenting a formidable challenge to those who oppose him. This philosophy underscores Tyrannon's identity as the Conqueror, a being who rules through might alone and seeks to impose his will on the entire Multiverse.
Tactics: To achieve this colossal goal, Tyrannon employs a systematic approach. Each conquered dimension is not just an addition to his empire but a step towards the larger unification. He meticulously reshapes the laws of the captured realms to mirror those of Thulkos, ensuring they seamlessly integrate into his growing singularity. The more dimensions he absorbs, the more powerful he becomes, drawing on their unique energies and knowledge to further his conquests.
Tyrannon's strategy involves sending his Duplicates into target dimensions, where they establish footholds and begin the process of domination. Once a dimension falls under his control, he uses his immense power to tear down the barriers between it and Thulkos, effectively merging them. This process is both destructive and transformative, as the natural laws of the absorbed dimension are overridden by Tyrannon's own, reshaping it into a part of his unified reality.
However, this grand scheme is not without its challenges. Tyrannon's ambitions have drawn the attention of other powerful beings and mystics across the Multiverse, some of whom possess the strength and knowledge to oppose him. These adversaries form alliances, create barriers, and launch counterattacks to thwart his plans. Yet, Tyrannon remains undeterred, viewing each challenge as an opportunity to prove his supremacy and refine his methods.
The Conqueror lacks the patience for devious scheming. His deceptions seldom become more complex than disguising a Viceroy as some other creature, handing a magical superweapon to an ambitious but gullible mystic, or promising someone that he can rule the world in Tyrannon’s name if he helps the Conqueror. Such promises are worthless: the Conqueror never shares power, and an erstwhile ally merely becomes a slightly more favored slave. Tyrannon considers his directness a sign of his superiority: “Knowledge? Cunning? Tyrannon does not need such things. Tyrannon rules by power alone.”
Tyrannon's approach to power is brutally straightforward. He sees no need for intricate plots or elaborate ruses. His immense strength and magical prowess render such tactics unnecessary in his eyes. When he desires something, he takes it by force, relying on his overwhelming might to crush any opposition. This directness is both a reflection of his personality and a calculated tactic to instill fear and submission in those who would oppose him.
Powers and abilities:
Dimensional Lordship: Tyrannon possesses complete control over the dimension of Thulkos, and can manipulate everything within it including e.g. time, space, life, matter, energy, etc.
Galaxy Manipulation: At his full power, Tyrannon can change the architecture of an entire galaxy, or at least a major portion of one. The Sunmaker reshaped most of Thulkos’s cosmos using powers like this, collapsing it to a fraction of its former size. Tyrannon can alter such enormous masses in hours or days rather than centuries. If Tyrannon annexes a world like Earth, he uses a variation on this Power to spin it into a ring-shaped world like Thulkos.
Population Control: Tyrannon rules multiple dimensions, with a total population in the hundreds of trillions. Some of the worlds in his empire are larger and more populous than Earth. Tyrannon commands an army of more than a billion soldiers, though most of this force is tied up fighting the Conqueror’s rivals or pacifying newly-conquered regions. Tyrannon commits his armies only after he personally destroys a world’s most powerful defenders. Not all of Tyrannon’s resources are magical. Some conquered worlds retain technology comparable to Earth’s, though technology stops working once a dimension fully merges with Thulkos. Tyrannon dislikes nuclear weapons and other technological devices, but his satraps may use such weapons in attempts to please him.
World Merging: Tyrannon establishes his rule using Dimensional Bridges no larger than a small office building. Once he controls a world and secures the worship of its people, he creates a world-sized dimensional bridge to fuse the other plane to Thulkos. The natural and magical laws of Thulkos eventually overwhelm and reshape the other dimension, if Tyrannon himself does not speed the process using his own power. Like all Tyrannon’s Gates, Cosmic Fusion requires a Focus to stabilize it. In this case, the Focus consists of hollow statues representing Tyrannon’s eight Throne forms, cast in pure diamond and filled with the blood of sacrificed mortals. Tyrannon sets the eight statues spinning in a ring and creates the vast Gate between them. The spell consumes the statues, however; a Cosmic Fusion can be broken only by creating another Gate within it (or, at the GM’s option, attacking it with other dimension-warping powers).
Collective Entity Physiology:
Absorption: Tyrannon’s mightiest form can consume and reincarnate other souls or spirits, the fate of defeated dimension lords or mystics. Devoured souls can fuel the re-creation of destroyed Duplicates, or Tyrannon can resurrect slain foes as fanatically loyal slaves. Indeed, Tyrannon could turn a consumed spirit into a new Duplicate outside the eight normal classes of Thrones, Viceroys, and Emissaries.
"Tyrannon's body is a temple wherein all gods dwell! A pantheon of many deities and demons under one flesh is he!" -- A Common Prayer.
The Conqueror normally lives in 888 bodies at once, scattered through multiple dimensions, in constant communication through psychic links. This makes it nearly impossible to kill or imprison Tyrannon: as long as one Duplicate remains free, the Conqueror might regain his power.
Midnight to Dawn (12:00 AM - 6:00 AM)
12:00 AM - 2:00 AM: Survey and Assimilate
Survey Multiverse: Tyrannon's Duplicates perform a synchronized survey of the dimensions under his control, assessing the state of his empire and identifying any threats or opportunities.
Assimilate Knowledge: Absorb the memories and knowledge of recently devoured souls, incorporating their skills and secrets into his own.
2:00 AM - 4:00 AM: Meditate and Reinforce
Meditation: Enter a deep meditative state to reinforce his psychic connections with his Duplicates, ensuring seamless coordination and control.
Energy Reinforcement: Draw energy from sacrificial rituals performed by his followers, replenishing his magical reserves.
4:00 AM - 6:00 AM: Plan and Strategize
Strategic Planning: Develop long-term strategies for conquest and expansion, including targeting new dimensions and strengthening defenses in vulnerable areas.
Consultation with Minions: Confer with key minions and satraps through psychic communication, issuing orders and receiving reports on their progress.
Morning (6:00 AM - 12:00 PM)
6:00 AM - 8:00 AM: Dominate and Enforce
Oversee Rituals: Personally oversee important sacrificial rituals, using the power gained to bolster his dominion.
Enforce Loyalty: Conduct inspections of his satraps and high priests, ensuring their absolute loyalty through fear and magical compulsion.
8:00 AM - 10:00 AM: Expand Influence
Portal Maintenance: Check and maintain the stability of the dimensional gates that connect Thulkos to other realms, ensuring they remain functional and secure.
Invasion Preparations: Prepare for invasions of new dimensions, including the deployment of Duplicates and the summoning of powerful minions.
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Study and Innovate
Magical Research: Delve into ancient tomes and arcane artifacts, seeking new spells and magical techniques to enhance his power.
Innovate Tactics: Experiment with new strategies and tactics, testing their effectiveness against simulated foes in his throne room.
Afternoon (12:00 PM - 6:00 PM)
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM: Govern and Command
Governance: Hold court in Tyrankos, issuing decrees and resolving disputes among his followers. Use this time to display his power and instill fear.
Command Armies: Direct the movements of his armies across the multiverse, ensuring they are strategically positioned for maximum impact.
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Train and Empower
Training: Engage in combat training with his elite guards and personal warriors, honing their skills and testing their loyalty.
Empower Minions: Empower loyal minions with enhanced abilities and magical items, preparing them for upcoming battles or missions.
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM: Intimidate and Subdue
Intimidation: Visit rebellious regions or dimensions in person, using his overwhelming presence to quell dissent and reinforce his rule.
Subdue Threats: Personally deal with any significant threats or insurrections, using his immense power to crush opposition.
Evening (6:00 PM - 12:00 AM)
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Reflect and Refine
Reflection: Reflect on the day's events, analyzing successes and failures to refine his strategies and plans.
Refinement: Make adjustments to his plans and directives based on new information and insights gained throughout the day.
8:00 PM - 10:00 PM: Delegate and Rest
Delegation: Delegate routine tasks and minor issues to trusted minions, allowing him to focus on more significant matters.
Rest: Enter a state of semi-rest, where he remains aware of his surroundings and can react instantly, but conserves energy for the next day's activities.
10:00 PM - 12:00 AM: Ritual and Renewal
Renewal Rituals: Participate in renewal rituals designed to sustain his god-like powers and maintain the balance of magic in Thulkos.
Preparation for Tomorrow: Prepare for the next day, setting in motion plans and contingencies to ensure his continued dominance.
Tyrannon does not need to sleep, and has been known to remain awake for centuries at a time when he is engaged in the selection, conquest and assimilation of other dimensions. However, even a being as mighty as Tyrannon needs rest of some sort, if only to properly metabolize the immense energies that writhe beneath his skin as well dream of future conquests. Tyrannon sleeps with his eyes open, and can awake instantly should he need to.
Tyrannon also does not require food or drink, and is sustained solely by the magical energies supplied by the billions sacrificed in his name across his domain. Many of his bodies still have the capacity to eat, and his Emissaries, while under disguise, may do so to maintain their cover. Oddly enough, Tyrannon does still occasionally enjoy the sensation of eating, and his palate is satisfied by the delicacies from a thousand different dimensions that he had conquered. He is also (not surprisingly) fond of the raw flesh of intelligent humanoids (which he considers to be delicious), and has been known to actually devour certain worthy opponents whole or the bodies of sacrifices.
Tyrannon's sexual appetites are legendary. Every year a selection of the most beautiful females of
None typically survive the experience.
Psychically sensitive people always dream about Tyrannon when one of his bodies enters a world, while actual precognitives suffer terrifying nightmares about the devastation he will inflict. Such dreams may provide clues to Tyrannon’s location and plans, but they are always vague, symbolic, and uncontrollable — a way for the GM to alert PCs that a menace needs stopping, not provide instructions about how to do it.
Roll on the following table to determine the exact nature of the dream.
1. The psychic has a vision of the whole universe -- indeed all of existence -- swirling within Tyrannon and has the impression that he contains everything within himself. All is Tyrannon and nothing can escape him.