Chaos is a constant presence and threat in the Delve RPG. While all but the rarest Hero is a creature of life, a product of the emanations exuded from the Elemental Forge, and given animus by the Path of Souls, Chaos is the antithesis of that state of being. Fueled by a churning void and the product of the Abyss’s pulsating radiation, Chaos is not some passive and waiting fate. It reaches its foul tendrils into the Multiverse, corrupting life and unleashing demons whose sole purpose is to destroy.

Most folk of the multiverse are blissfully ignorant of Chaos. When they do discover it, it is masked in priestly sermons on corruption, which often encompasses Chaos, along with creatures and behaviors that the church or the preacher sees as anathema. Commonly, fae are heaped into this pseudo-intellectual dung heap. However, unfortunately, the first time most people discover that chaos is in the world, it is often due to the marauding of chaotic aberrations, deranged sorcerers, drow raids, marauding beastwarped, the more sinister and chaos-worshipping saurians, or demonic incursions.

But chaos is both more insidious and widespread than even the most paranoid priest can imagine. Sometimes, unbeknownst to themselves, various people dabble in the worship and empowerment of chaos.

Chaos is more than some invisible force gnawing at the edges of existence; Chaos is also a type of magic, at least of a sort. Often more insidious and corrupting, slow in its effects, but powerful in its persistence. Other magical practitioners, be they Arcane, Divine, or otherwise, are often loath to admit this. Yet, it has been proven time and again by the facts that spells and items that can affect or detect magic in a general sense usually sense the taint of Chaos.

For instance, a wizard of a priest casts Sense Magic, and the blight of Chaos shows up just as readily as the Divine auras of a priest’s meddling. Of course, it only shows up as magic until that spell is sacrificed, at which point the aura of chaos swirls in a kaleidoscope of madness.

The relatively high cost of such divinations was the reason why Bakob created and detailed new magical and alchemical items to help determine—in one way or another—if creatures or objects were tainted with Chaos. This includes two traits that can enhance magical weapons or implements.

As well as the following alchemical and magical item:

But those who must flush out and rid the world of Chaos have a hard road in front of them. It’s almost as if when one investigates the corruption of the Abyss, they find signs of it everywhere. Sometimes this is merely paranoia or the delusions of the self-serving. Still, there is at least some anecdotal evidence that Chaos pays something like attention to its enemies and hunts them down. There’s an old hunter’s demon saying that “One cult leads to another and worse.”

And there is worse. Those knowledgeable of Chaos and the Arcane arts can merge the two, swapping out the Arcane language of Dweomoric with the guttural and equally strange Galluth language, a mirror-like bastardization of the wizard’s tongue that can also hide and illuminate words of power. This is the type of magic that fuels demon and demonologist spells, creating nearly every effect of wizardry and adding many depraved spells to its encyclopedia that can be cast in either language, but even casting them in Dweomeric doesn’t shed Chaos’s corruption.

For those Heroes dead set on the destruction of Chaos, the road is perilous, utterly thankless, and risks corruption. The threat of chaos is like a rotten onion; it has layers upon layers and becomes more nauseating as you reach the core. It’s also tempting, as the songs and stories of Hextur the Traitor often illustrate bawdy and bloody ways. Even if there is a glimmer of truth in those favored tavern tales, there is a fair chance that what you battle will, in the end, conquer you.

On the Delve Patreon, Monster Monday posts, I’ve already released four of the arcane-called typed demons, and one spontaneous demon encountered the the Crystal Manse adventure. But more Chaos is to come. In later weeks we will unleash drow and duergar, elves and dwarves who have either fallen to or decided to serve Chaos.

This will culminate in the details of the strange costal cult of Dagon, and the Sea Caves of Dagon-Tuth adventure site, all will be available for Delvers and higher in the coming weeks.