Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Finder’s Archives.
Today we finish up the Halloween Mini-series. And we’re bringing you something a little different. A campaign that uses Pinhead.
The villain Pinhead appeared in the books and films called Hellraiser, where he’s the leader of a Demonic Cult (actual demons, not just people worshipping demons) known as the Order of the Gash – Pinhead is their leader, the high priests of the demons known as Cenobytes, leading them in their occult worship of the deity known as Leviathan – the God of Flesh, Hunger, and Desire.
So what can we do with this villain? Well, we’re going to build a campaign out of it.
Level 1 – 5:
With the low levels, Pinhead is far too tough an opponent for the PCs to face, so here is where we’re going to sow the seeds of what’s going to happen.
During an unrelated adventure, the PCs find that one of their opponents has been self-mutilating to an extreme degree, seemingly practicing not only scarification but also an extreme version of sadomasochism, where the participants either die or only survive through the use of magical healing. Within the possession of this dead opponent is a small book talking about the god Leviathan, and its home realm: The Labyrinth. Some planar knowledge or a sage can confirm the existence of the Labyrinth, but no one knows where it’s located – perhaps it’s in Limbo or a layer on the Abyss that’s inaccessible to normal mortals.
The book further makes mention of a particular artifact known as the Lament Configuration, a small box that gets bigger when it’s unpacked. It supposedly grants the holder endless sensual pleasure, and the power of enchantment, allowing the holder to ensnare anyone who falls within their grasp.
No hints are given about the location of the Lament Configuration and all divination attempts fail, as do attempts to find the Labyrinth.
Level 6 – 10:
During downtime, one of the NPCs that the heroes have built up a connection with is brutally murdered during the night, the body mutilated in some form of ritual. Each cut is delicately placed on the skin of the NPC as if attempting to perfect some design. However, it’s clear that only some 80% of the cuts are made in this manner. The remainder 20% appear to have been done in a blind rage.
There are a few clues that all lead to a local entertainer, a bard called Mykil Lemn. He claims to be innocent of any crime, and a bit of investigation turns out that he is. The real culprit is one of Mykil’s helpers – a broken man named Mihangel Broderick -, a huge fan, who has seen how Mykil’s audience throws themselves at him, and how he takes advantage of that – indulging in the pleasures of the flesh. Mihangel wants a piece of that action, so he has been stealing Mykil’s clothes and gear to deceive his targets into following him where they will not be discovered as he performs his ritual.
His ritual turns out to be him experimenting with various cuts and incisions that, if done in a particular way and particular order, should open a portal to the Labyrinth and summon the Lament Configuration to the cutter’s side.
Tracking him down, they discover that he was seemingly not working alone, but there are no traces as to who his teacher might have been, save for the faint magical residue from a teleportation spell.
Level 11-15:
Once more, the heroes find themselves looking at the Order of the Gash, as a priest has managed to complete the magical killing ritual, and has successfully conjured up the Lament Configuration. More worryingly, he’s opened a portal to the Labyrinth through it, and a small number of Cenobites have made their way through from the Labyrinth. (treat these as Velstracs from Pathfinder 2, though they all vaguely resemble disfigured humans). The heroes must overcome these creatures, and close the Lament Configuration once more – a task that can only be accomplished once all the Cenobites are killed. Worryingly, as they close the Lament Configuration, they hear laughter and a voice in their minds telling them “I will tear your souls apart…”
Level 16-20:
Now it’s time for the big one. Either the Lament Configuration is stolen, and they must recover it or the heroes open it themselves. When they do, they’re sucked into the Labyrinth and will have to face Pinhead himself. (Use the states for the Eremite – as before, it has a humanoid form) – Before they do though, they’ll have to find him, and this Labyrinth is a true wonderland of pain. By the time they get to Pinhead himself, they should have gone through all manner of painful traps and illusions – but none that truly risk killing them. After all, Pinhead wants to do that himself.
And should they defeat Pinhead, maybe they’ll have to face Leviathan, though more likely the heroes will have defeated its High Priest and the cult will slowly die out over the next decade.
Kim Frandsen
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