THE KING IN YELLOW (ENTITY)

“I do this every day, and yet the joy of waiting and at last touching again the diadem only seems to increase as the days pass. It is a diadem fit for a King among kings, an Emperor among emperors. The King in Yellow might scorn it, but it shall be worn by his royal servant.” 

—Robert Chambers, “The King in Yellow.” 

The King in Yellow is an entity that seems to haunt the human mind, or exist in the construct that humanity calls thoughts or ideas. Greater revelations have, of course, been implied (that the King is a manifestation of the Great Old One Hastur, that it is a psychosocial disease brought on by human consciousness, that it is a meme-entity living inside human thought, etc...) but of course, none of these can be proven. Instead, this entity is of a vague and ever-changing nature. 

The King in Yellow appears to bend, warp and reshape reality at its whim. Spacetime reorders as it approaches, and at its most powerful, seems to shudder and slide away from it. Anything observed by human thought—a planted tree, a doorway, a book—is under the control of this entity, allowing it to warp and change it at will. With this ability, buildings can dance, shift and change, and books can animate their meaning in the spray of words across a flipped-through-page. 

Such manifestations seem to transform the world into fashions, styles, and architecture from the later Victorian era (approximately 1880-1901)—thought to be in the approximate time frame that the book The King in Yellow first appeared. Such changes often make little or no sense, and seemingly appear from nowhere. For the human psyche, built upon cause and effect, this shift is terrifying to behold and especially damaging. These changes in our world open portals to another world of roiling thought and insanity referred to in various sources as “Carcosa.” 

The King appears as a lonely entity bound in a yellow or gold mask. Specifics differ from observer to observer. Usually, the creature wears a tattered yellow robe or outfit of some sort. It rarely speaks, and instead appears to beckon individuals into its realm of Carcosa. What is beneath the entity’s mask is a subject of intense speculation, but one thing is known those who see discover this secret are forever lost. 

AURA OF POWER: Any human present when the King in Yellow manifests is at −20% on all rolls (except SAN). A character who fails the SAN roll for encountering the King in Yellow cannot act for 1D6 turns, instead goggling in shocked silence at its apparent reality. 

DISCORPORATION: A successful attack with a Lethality rating of 40% or higher causes the King in Yellow to dissipate, exploding into a confetti-like spray of ancient rags, leaving behind nothing. Each character present who fails a Luck roll loses 1/1D6 SAN and is overcome by the Yellow Sign. Until that victim etches or paints the Yellow Sign on an external surface, they are consumed by it; all skill rolls are -20%, and they must make a SAN roll for each night of sleep. Failure indicates they wake continuously from unremembered nightmares (normal penalties from insomnia apply). 

ENTROPY: The touch of the King is enough to cause matter to dissolve and unravel. If it is its will, a single touch by the King on any living creature inflicts a Lethality 50% attack. Victims consumed by such an attack rot, spoil, and dissolve into ashes in mere seconds (1D4/1D10 SAN). 

FUNDAMENTAL CONTROL OF MATTER: The King in Yellow can control all matter within sensory range on a fundamental level. Observation seems to be of relevance in this ability—if a target loses sight of a changed item, place or person, for example, it might change back to its previous form—or into some new horror. Such changes occur outside of the observation of the target. There is effectively no limit to what his ability may affect. 

THE BOOK: The King in Yellow seems inextricably bound to a particular set of words, most often seen in a published play called The King in Yellow. No clear timeline for the book’s creation can be decided upon, but it exists in many places and many languages. Simply reading this book and failing a SAN roll is enough to open a character to the ministrations of the King. All who read it are either visited by the King or one of its servants. A long-held belief is that the King is immortal, existing within each copy of The King in Yellow. 

THE YELLOW SIGN: The symbol of the King is the “Yellow Sign.” This mark (described at various times as a sigil, an eye, a branch, and a dragon) brings horror, fear, and insanity to any who see it (0/1D4 SAN). Those who fail the SAN roll and who choose to spread the Yellow Sign might find some comfort from that action. Those who fail and refuse must make a SAN roll for each night of sleep. Failure indicates they wake continuously from unremembered nightmares (normal penalties from insomnia apply). 

SAN LOSS: 1D4/1D6 (with mask). 

1D10/1D100 (with no mask).