The Schema

THE SCHEMA
a monster by Rafael Chandler

In its home dimension, the Schema is a sentient gas residing in a universe of crystals and light; there, vast quantities of information are processed and disseminated from one end of the cosmos to the other. The Schema is but one of trillions of life-forms connected by this continuum of data.

Somehow, the Schema has entered our world. Lacking a physical body here, it chooses to inhabit the written word, incorrectly perceiving writing as part of some interconnected network of universally-shared information.

Though the Schema prefers books, it can also insert its consciousness into scrolls, parchments, typed pages, or notes.

There, the unsuspecting creature is trapped. Unable to return to its home, and incapable of transmitting data, it languishes until it is found.

If someone touches the book or page, the Schema awakens, jolted by the contact (which, to the entity, evokes the interconnected state of its home dimension).

The Schema is unable to comprehend individual entities; if a human picks up the book, the entity assumes that it communicates with all humans. Furthermore, it does not recognize the human race as a fixed point; instead, it perceives the entirety of human evolution, culminating in a harmonization wherein the species becomes interconnected and capable of high-speed data transmission.

Consequently, the Schema attempts to communicate with a collective sentience, broadcasting its thoughts far and wide in an attempt to address all humans. It thought-projects images of its homeworld, a place of translucent crystals, sentient gases intermingled in glittering caverns, and vast gulfs of space through which beams of light transmit infinite wisdom.

As a general rule, these images cause humans great distress. Anyone touching a Schema-possessed object must make a saving throw against magic; failure means that the player must roll 3d6 and consult the following table:

3. Mass Stupor
Though the reader is unharmed (and may even be unaware of what is transpiring), the people of the region are tormented by an onslaught of information. Unprepared for the mass influx of data, they are rendered comatose for a period of (1d20 x 1d20) weeks -- roll for each individual. When someone awakens from this period of unconsciousness, there is a 1 in 6 chance he or she will be filled with a burning hatred that can only be assuaged through acts of sadism.

4-5. Chaos
The Schema inadvertently accesses the victim's worst memories, which are then broadcast through the surrounding region, filling people with fear and anger. Innocent people will be accused of witchcraft and tortured, towns will burn to the ground, and hundreds will commit suicide.

6-7. Enlightenment
The Schema broadcasts truth and joy directly into the victim's soul, eradicating all fear and anxiety. Unfortunately, this also blasts the victim's identity into smithereens, and another (long-suppressed) identity awakens to fill the void. The character now has a completely different personality.

8-13. Madness
The victim is convinced that he or she is a gaseous being, born in a world of crystals and light. Hoping to inspire change, the victim tells tales of harmony and infinite joy among the gleaming lattice structures. This insanity is temporary, lasting for 1d6 minutes. However, there is a 1 in 20 chance that the madness is contagious: anyone who comes within 10 feet of the victim must make a saving throw against magic or become similarly insane for a period of 1d6 minutes. Those who are infected are also contagious, meaning that this madness may spread rapidly (though not for very long, as those who are initially infected become immune after the insanity has passed).

14-15. Wisdom
The Schema broadcasts truth and joy directly into the victim's soul, eradicating all fear and anxiety. Unfortunately, this also deletes various memories from the victim's mind, and transmits those memories into the minds of random strangers (permanently).

16-17. Transfer
The Schema inadvertently switches the minds and bodies of hundreds of people throughout the region, resulting in mass chaos. Violence and looting are typical byproducts of this process.

18. Horror
Though the reader is unharmed (and may even be unaware of what is transpiring), the people of the region are tormented by an onslaught of information. Unprepared for the mass influx of data, they commit suicide in large numbers. Entire towns are wiped out.

To destroy the physical object (bible, broadside, note) is to release the Schema, which will then search for another printed page to inhabit. In this dimension, it is incapable of attack or defense, but it is also immune to all forms of attack. If the Schema cannot find an appropriate vessel to inhabit, it will expire after 1d20+20 minutes of frantic searching.