CORRUPTION
Perhaps you were wounded by a corrupted monster, or gave yourself willingly to a dark power, it doesn’t matter, something has corrupted you. Corruption can give you power you didn’t know you were capable of, but it comes with a price, your soul, because using your corruption can lead to your soul becoming even more tainted.
Corruption allow players to “edit” the plot of the adventure and the rules of the game to a degree just like Destiny. The primary difference between the two is how long they last, how they are earned, and what happens when you spend them.
Unlike Destiny, the game does not start with a Corruption Pool, nor are they earned through heroic or even villainous deeds. Corruption is instead inflicted upon a player, after a failed Toughness or Resolve resistance check after coming into contact with Corruption. A number of Corruption die equal to the Hero’s Corruption points are always available, and are not spent like destiny Die.
If a Hero is physically wounded or affected by a corrupted creature, they must pass a Toughness resistance check equal to the DC of the original Damage or Effect. If a Hero is mentally wounded or affected by a corrupted creature, they must pass a Resolve resistance check equal to the DC of the original Damage or Effect. If this check is failed the Hero gains 1 point of Corruption.
A Hero can use any number of Corruption die they currently have, whenever they want. However, after each use they must make a Toughness or Resolve resistance check equal to the total DC of whatever action the Corruption Die were used for. If the action did not have a DC, instead make a Hard Check + the total of the Corruption die rolled. If this resistance check fails, the Hero gains another point of Corruption. Neither the Fortune die, Luck, Destiny, Fate, or Corruption can be used to aid this Roll, but they can be used to hinder it.
COST OF CORRUPTION
Whenever a Hero gains a point of corruption, they also gain the Quirk (Negative Edge), Curse, and Stress limitation found below.
- Quirk (Corrupted): Choose a Hubris or Complication. Once per day, or whenever you come into contact with Corruption, or use your Corruption, this quirk can be activated to Activate that Hubris or Complication, without granting you Destiny. This Hubris or Complication must be interacted with.
- Curse (Corruption): Gain an associated curse with the either the Permanent, Triggered, Uncontrolled, or Unreliable Flaw, typically a Quirk (Negative Feature). Power Points gained by this curse should only be 1 Power Point, but can be increased as the player gains more Corruption instead of a new Curse. This Curse tends to be of a physical nature if the Corruption was gained by a physical wound or affect, or of a mental nature if the Corruption was gained by a mental wound or affect. If wounded by a Horror with a contagious nature, the Hero will gain the Curses and Powers associated with that Horror
- Stress (Corruption Points): Any Corruption Points gained by the player counts towards their Stress limit, much like Destiny Die.
HEALING CORRUPTION
Healing Corruption is no easy task, and typically takes a special ritual or possibly even Godly intervention to heal. Some special materials such as crystals or jade may help prevent a Hero from gaining Corruption when exposed to it (granting +5 Advantage to resist corruption, until 5 points have been prevented then crumbling into dust), but will not help if the Hero uses Corruption die.
A Hero who reaches 6 Corruption points is generally considered a Horror, though not soulless. If the Hero reaches 10 corruption points, their soul is completely destroyed, and they become soulless like true Horrors, and they are no longer a playable character.
CURSES
Sometimes things don’t always go according to plan, and sometimes bad things happen to good people, or sometimes bad things happen to those that deserve it. Sometimes a Hero, or Villian, can fall victim to a curse, this could be something inflicted on them by some dark power, or perhaps gained by becoming corrupted. Here you will find out how you can create and build Curses using Effects, Modifiers, and Descriptors just like you would build a Power.
Curses are negative Powers that the Character can’t control and are often Permanent, Triggered, Uncontrolled, or Unreliable. Curses from a Clan effect are already approved, but all other Curses must be approved by the Gamemaster. The Gamemaster may also assign Curses during game play, like Treasure and Experience. Characters who gain Corruption, also gain Curses equal to their Corruption. Ranks of Effects varies based on the Effect, and the cost of a component can be increased or decreased depending on the modifiers used. The Gamemaster determines the max number of Ranks in a Curse Effect. What Effect Types you can use to build your Curses is determined by the Gamemaster as well. Some Curses may be composed of several Components, but most will be composed of just one, or have other Components as Alternate Effects. Curses must be a detriment to the Character and award the Character extra Power Points instead of costing Power Points because of this.
EFFECTS
A Curse is made up of one or more Effects, possibly with different Modifiers, which increase or decrease the cost of the Effects, and Descriptors which help define the Curse. A big difference between a Curse and a Power, is that most Curses should typically have either the Permanent, Triggered, Uncontrolled, or Unreliable flaw, and that ultimately Curses are not beneficial, but instead are detrimental to the character, typically targeting the character, or his allies instead of enemies. Effects can be used to create any number of different Curses. A character, for instance may be inflicted with an Uncontrollable Reaction Damage Effect, called Consecrated ground that causes him to take damage whenever he steps foot in a church or other holy spot. It’s all a matter of how powerful the Effect is and what Modifiers have been placed on it to increase or decrease its performance. Another way to think of it is that Effects are the foundation Curses are built upon, and Modifiers the type of materials, while Descriptors are how you decorate them.
When building Curses, sometimes instead of the effect being Permanent, Triggered, Uncontrolled, or Unreliable, or targeting the Character directly, like a Damage or Affliction Effect that targets the cursed character, the Effect will instead have the opposite Effect it would normally have, like Immunity causing a character to instead have a Vulnerability, or Regeneration causing a character to suffer damage instead of healing damage under certain circumstances.
MODIFIERS
Modifiers change how an Effect works, making it more effective (an Extra) or less effective (a Flaw). Modifiers have Ranks, just like other traits. Extras increase a Effect’s cost while Flaws decrease it. Some Modifiers increase an Effect’s cost per rank, others apply an unchanging cost to the Effect’s total; these are called flat Modifiers. Some Curses might be built as powers, but with several Flaws that lower its cost below 0 at the Gamemaster’s discretion.
DESCRIPTORS
The above rules explain what the various Curses do, that is, what their game Effects are, but it is left up to the player and Gamemaster to apply descriptors to define exactly what a Curse is and what it looks (and sounds, and feels) like to observers beyond just a collection of game Effects.
