The Aphelion Chronicles
~
Chapter XVIII - Of the Esoteric Order of The Star Eater and His Thousand Dead Suns Rising
The Large tome is bound in unfamiliar leather, it's clasp perhaps an ancient ivory. It is clearly a copy, though old enough none the less. It is a wordy and clearly slightly unhinged document detailing various ancient Astronomancical studies and related mythologies. As the book goes on, the nameless Author becomes increasingly perculiar, often going on long nonsensical and sometimes quite ominous tangents. By Chapter XVIII, the book is barely recognisable from the almost scientific tone of the earlier sections. It is full of hyperboli and illegible diagrams. The Chapter describes at some length an extraplaner being or 'forgotten' demon prince, Ogg'Ullothon the Eater of Stars. An Utterly Nihilistic entity, trapped in impossibly ancient times by the Gods of some alien world in an Extra-Planar prison that would hold the evil entity till the end of all creation, or beyond. The book makes a number of wild claims at this point, eventually becoming an incomprehensible rant for several pages (All dutifully transcribed, even down to the violent slashing-marks made by the original author's pen when language itself seemed to momentarily fail him).
Subsequent chapters concern themselves with a number of histories of various cults and orders that have held Ogg'Ullothon as their patron. Some seeking to unleash him upon the world to bring about it's true destruction, others merely seeking to use the entity as a source of power, tapping into his prison with false promise of freedom. The final section concerns itself with oddly detailed descriptions of various rituals and rites relating to the Sun Eater. The book's nameless author claims that several of them, if performed right, would indeed crack open a channel the eternal prison of dread Ogg'Ullothon and end the world itself.
Later Chapters are even more wild fancifull, eventually devolving into outright drivel.
The Above is a handout I used in my running of the Keep on the Shadowfell, detailing bits and pieces of A Forgotten Demon-Prince (an alledgedly fictional one). Clearly, such an entity is quite a decent choice for a Star-Pact patron, albeit a rather bleak and possibly dangerous one.
Ogg'Ullothon the Star Eater
Ogg'Ullothon is an utterly Nihilistic entity, even by Demonic standards. Although described as a forgotten Demon Prince, it is more properly described as an entity of the Far Realm. Imprisoned in impossibly ancient times by 'Alien Gods', this world-devouring ender-of-all-things is essentially impotent to act directly in any plane. If it exists, it is unlikely to have a conciousness as understood by mortal minds. Perhaps it is beyond the understanding even of the Gods. It seemingly only exists to destroy, to consume the very stuff and fabric of reality; To end the Multiverse itself, one plane at a time.
Entombed in a semi-sentient demiplane prison for all time, it is possible that the entity is no longer truly alive. But this doesn't stop it from being a source of Power for those reckless enough, or nihilistic enough, to risk dealing with.
[The Deal] There are several ways to draw power from Ogg'Ullothon. Either the Prospective Warlock can appeal directly to the entity (Or to the sentient echo of the entity, depending on DM's whim. The Entity is alien enough to reality that it is quite possible that 'Death' has not quite the same meaning as to creatures and beings native to the Cosmology we know of.) or the Warlock can tap into the same kind of power indirectly, essentially stealing the creature's power, or even tapping into the power of the Dread Prison itself. If tapping into the Entity without its content, or syphoning power from it's planar prison, then no formal 'deal' as such is required. Instead, it will likely take the form of a one-off sacrifice of some form, such as;
1) Using various magical items (or the residuum drawn from them) to feul a dread ritual, with a vast and (specifically master-work) Mirror as the focus, the power is drained and the character becomes a Warlock. The items are destroyed, crumbling to dust upon completion of the ritual.
2) Similar to the above, complete with the Large Ornate Mirror as focus, but the 'Energy' required to fuel the ritual and tap into the extra-planar source of arcane power comes instead from the sacrifice of living entities. Perhaps any living creature is required. Perhaps only using intelligent creatures or even friends and family will produce enough power to fuel the ritual and take what you will from the entombed Entity. Perhaps only slaying your Intelligent Sacrifices in such a way as to trap and/or destroy their very soul's will give you enough energy to tap into the Prison Plane without being drawn into it in turn.
Alternatively, particularly Fatalistic or unscrupulous characters may seek to deal directly with Ogg'Ullothon.
Considering that the entity is very firmly trapped, it is not, unlike other patrons, genuinely dealing from a position of strength. Though one-off deals are possible, (largely because of it's desperate nature) they are unlikely to be what it needs or craves. Ogg'Ullothon seeks the freedom to destroy. It will likely push for services that work towards eventually granting it this freedom, either in the form of researching and performing rituals to do so, or founding dread cults to work towards similar ends en mass.
It is quite possible to use the creature's desperation against it, however, and to break the deal with (Relative) impunity, because it is so utterly nihilistic that it generally struggles to attract followers.
Ogg'Ullothon (Or it's sentient echo, if the entity is dead in the DM's version of the multiverse), will whisper foul promises of further power and riches beyond measure to any foolish enough to initiate contact. If they are aware of it's true goals and nature, it will balance these bribes with promises to leave their plane of existence to last, claiming that it would instead begin with alternate planes of existence, which would take it centuries to devour, allowing the Warlock with hundreds of years to live in unrivalled splendor, having the world tremble at their feet while Ogg'Ullothon instead consumes the Shadowfell, Feywild or other planes as relevant.
[Good Or Evil?] Ogg'Ullothon is without doubt truly Evil, if it exists in truth. It is an uncaring, Alien thing that longs only to snuff out all that exists. It is verging on inconceivable that a Good Character would ever knowingly seek to bargain with such an entity. Even Devils and some Demons are unlikely to relish the idea of the foul star-spawn ever being freed. Truth be told, however, it would be suprising if any such character even knew of the Star-Eater's existence. Such Evil Characters as become aware of Ogg'Ullothon could very well see a source of power worth exploiting, especially those who are desperate, or simply insane. The Star-Eater's foul whisperings would soon send such a character mad, should they be foolish enough to make contact in any event!
Unnaligned characters could well find themselves tempted to exploit Ogg'Ullothon for their own ends, making a 'Pact'. However, they are likely to be drawn towards such methods that do not require dealing with Ogg'Ullothon itself, stealing power from it, or simply syphoning it from his extra-planar prison. Those who enter into direct deals with the Entity are unlikely to do so with anything resembling honesty, likely betraying the entity when the power has been granted. Possibly even by actively working to undo the efforts of those rare Cults devoted to Ogg'Ullothon, effectively undermining the Otherworldly Horror's chance of ever being freed. Still, any contact with the foul Eater of Stars or his (rare) worldly forces is dangerous, and Players should explore the roleplaying possibilities presented by such peril to their characters 'Sanity' with their DM.
[Worldly Forces] Whether or not the Entity is real, was real, or is living or dead in the DM's version of the Cosmos, it is possible that their are cults of some kind dedicated to the creature. Such cults are overwhelmingly made up of humans, being as they are by far the easiest to corrupt, and often the most naive when it comes to such otherworldly horrors. Even more rare than such cults are ones genuinely devoted to their 'Master' and his cause.
Other than such small cults of the insane, it is possible that particularly foul individuals of an Abherrant origin may revere Ogg'Ullothon as a God. Mind-Flayers in particular are a possibility, but it should be mentioned that Illithids who dedicate themselves to such an entity are just as likely to be hated and reviled for their blasphemies as their Human equivelants.
