Elder Sign

Elder Sign

(Magic item)

Rare

Abjuration

Artifact

Occult

Aura (1E)

Strong abjuration

Caster Level (1E)

20th

Item Level (2E)

Item 25

Type

Minor artifact

Slot (1E)

Slotless

Affiliation

Elder Mythos

Images of Elder Sign

Source: Horror Adventures, pg(s). 227 (1E)
Gamemastery Guide, pg(s). 108 (2E)

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An Elder Sign is a stone tablet with a bas-relief in the shape of a twig with five branches. It is a potent magical sigil capable of reliably keeping creatures and magic of the Elder Mythos at bay, or banishing such creatures to the place in the Universe where they originated. However, a limited number of Elder Signs exist, and each one that is permanently destroyed lessens the Universe's defenses against the horrors beyond.

Powers

An Elder Sign has three powers, each of which requires the recitation of a different occult mantra to activate:

• Banishment: The Elder Sign can banish a creature back to its home plane. It can also target creatures native to the same plane where the Elder Sign is activated, in which case it sends the creature to its point of origin. If the target is a Great Old One, the banishment always succeeds.
• Magic disruption: The Elder Sign can undo the magic of others, ending the effects of spells and suppressing the power of magic items.
• Sealing: The Elder Sign seals an area against teleportation and planar travel, both in and out.

Targets

Only eldritch creatures can be affected by an Elder Sign, which is to say those connected to cosmic horror or the Elder Mythos. Some creatures are innately connected to these forces, the best known of which being the Great Old Ones, but any creature or being can become associated through worship, such as is the case with the Old Cults, Night Heralds, and Dominion of the Black, and as a result become valid targets for the Elder Sign's power.

Cthulhu

An Elder Sign keeps the Great Old One Cthulhu trapped in stasis in the sunken city of R'lyeh.

Destruction Conditions

An Elder Sign can be destroyed only if used to banish a Great Old One.

References

Elder Signs were originally created by author H.P. Lovecraft.

External links

• Elder Sign (Cthulhu Mythos) (real-world fiction) on Wikipedia