Howling Hills - The Corrupt 2.0

BEWARE THE CORRUPT

This webpage is designed to help players understand corruption OOCLY. A great deal of this information isn't known IC yet and needs to be uncovered. The known IC knowledge of corruption will be labeled with an * to help player decided if they want their characters to know that knowledge or not.

Not all known IC knowledge is common knowledge, so the * will be labeled green, yellow, red.

Green is the easiest knowledge to acquire, Red is the hardest. So consider what your character would know or not.

Bringing magic into a tainted form long ago, Aberrations - now known as The Corrupt, are solely responsible for the dangers lurking deep within magic today.

These creatures prey on anything with magic, without a care for those who stand in their path. However, The Veil is here to protect you not only from attacks by The Corrupt but also to help keep you from becoming one yourself. According to current research, anyone can receive corruption by exhausting their pool of magic or being bitten by a fully corrupt creature; their only motive, want, and need are to consume magic. The Corrupt are soulless (essence-less) and devoid of emotions, mere shells of what they once were. Physically, they seem to have no age limit as long as they consume magic. If not, they wither away over time.

Fortunately, the Veil is still up, otherwise disaster would occur.

Read up on Aberration Cores Here!

What Can Become Corrupted

* Only entities with a Essence can become corrupt. An Essence is what makes someone them. It is the very core of an individuals existence. Whether they be living, dead, soulless, or even damned.

* It is this essence that becomes tainted as a person becomes corrupted and eventually is completely lost when an individual becomes an Aberration.

* The lost essence becomes the very Core that keeps an Aberration going.

* Death & Corruption

Magical Corruption: Corruption will stay with an individual even after death & racial changes due to it Corrupting the Soul / Essence.

Contracted Corruption: If a person dies and they leave the body behind before the final stage, the corruption will be removed. As Bitten Corrupt starts body first.

* Defining Essence

What is Essence?

Essence can be found in all sentient things. From a plants, to animals, to Supernatural, and even Mundane. Some examples of Essences would be Souls, Phylactery, and what defines ones center of being or intelligence. A creature without a soul, will still have an essence. One needs an Essence to exist. Living or Dead.

How does something gain Essence?

A regular item or magic item won't have an essence. But should that magical item or item gain intelligence / being of self, that item could developed its own Essence.

Stages of Corruption

Contracted Corruption

* Anyone with Essence can become Corrupted this way.

This form of Corruption is surface level until stage 3. It does not affect your essence.

* This form of corruption spread through blood (corrupted) to blood (not corrupted) or blood equivalent by making contact with others.

* While blood causes Contracted Corruption, sharing magic or essence causes Magical Corruption. (This is a risk / up to player consent within reasonable ICC)

* Consuming corrupted blood or equivalent substance from a corrupted individual is strongly discouraged due to a high risk of entering the bloodstream through open wounds (Contracted Corruption).

Magical Corruption

* Magical Individuals or Individuals that use Corrupted Magical Items can gain Corruption this way.

* Magical Corruption affects a players Soul / Essence. It shows surface level, but goes far deeper than any bite ever could. This runs the risk of being passed down through genetic family trees. (We leave it up to players to decide)

* This form of corruption becomes spreadable after a month of being Stage 1. Contact with other people: Specifically blood or blood equivalent transfer can spread corruption through open wounds. The longer a person has corruption, the more risk of transfer. Consent or ICC is required for this to spread.

(The Corruption a player gets from this is consider Contracted Corruption)

* Consuming corrupted blood or equivalent substance from a corrupted individual is strongly discouraged due to a high risk of entering the bloodstream through open wounds (Contracted Corruption).

* Drawing magic from a magical corrupted individual is equally discouraged, as it runs the risk (player consent / ICC) of the corruption spreading (Magical Corruption) to the person drawing upon the magic.

* While blood causes Contracted Corruption, sharing magic or essence causes Magical Corruption. (This is a risk / up to player consent within reasonable ICC)

* Stage 1 & 2 (48hr Period)
Cause: There are two ways. Being bitten by an Aberration or having blood to blood (or blood equiv) contact with someone who's corrupted or an aberration.

Visuals: Darkening of extremities - starting at the fingertips, toes and ears. Veins, extremities and flesh appear inky in hue and become hard to the touch. The bite site will turn black.

Symptoms: Craving / being drawn to magic.

* Stage 3 (Aberration)

Special Note: RL happens, so the 48hr period is measured by roleplay time and not RL Time. Giving players time to organize between busy schedules should they wish to be cured or choose to let their character become an Aberration.
How To: When a player plans to become an Aberration, they submit a Lore Ticket to proceed. This should be done BEFORE going Stage 3.

* Is there a cure? (Yes)
Players can use a core to cure the corruption from someone who has been Bitten. A core will pull the corruption into itself in the same way a leech pulls poisonous blood out of an individual. This process may take a short period of time or long depending on how much the corruption has set in. Once the core absorbs the corruption, it stops moving and become unusable. It becomes dead and it starts to corrode into ash over a short period of time. This can take up to a few weeks at most.

Cores can be Obtained through ST Events, ST NPCs, & Hospital Staff. Read up further information on Hospitals & Cores Here.

* Stage 1:

Cause: Using mana after reaching 0 mana or casting a powerful magical spell aka abusing magic beyond a persons limits.

Visuals: Darkening of extremities - starting at the fingertips, toes and ears.

Symptoms: Craving / being drawn to magic.

* Stage 2:

Cause: Using mana after reaching 0 mana or casting a powerful magical spell aka abusing magic beyond a persons limits.

Visuals: Veins, extremities and flesh appear inky in hue and become hard to the touch.

Symptoms: Instability while actively casting magic. (Up for player interpretation)

* Stage 3 (Aberration)
Cause: Using mana after reaching 0 mana or casting a powerful magical spell that pushes the Stage 2 corrupted over the edge into the Aberration Change.

How To: When a player plans to become an Aberration, they submit a Lore Ticket to proceed. This should be done BEFORE going Stage 3.

* Is there a cure? (Not Yet)

Should players want to create a cure for Magic based corruption, they will need to work on the process through roleplay and submit a Lore ticket. The Howling Hills universe is shaped by the players and how they help it grow.

Possible Symptoms (Optional)

Psychotic Symptoms: Delusions (false beliefs), hallucinations (hearing/seeing things not there), and disorganized speech/behavior

Negative Emotion Symptoms: Reduced emotional expression (flat affect), apathy, lack of motivation, social withdrawal, and poor hygiene.

Cognitive Symptoms: Difficulty with attention, memory, and executive functioning. Poor mana and magic regulation are due to declining executive function.

Elevated Stress Levels: Possible anxiety, stress, and/or paranoia.

Making Your Own Symptoms: Everyone responds psychologically to Corruption in their own way. We leave the door open for players to make symptoms they feel would fit their character.

How To Check For Corruption

* World Council & Government Employees

[RDA Leads & Authorized Hospital Personal (Leads) only know this]

Restricted device that amplifies large wave of mana from the caster that causes a physical reaction of the Visuals of that Stage of Corruption. Making them unable to be hidden during that period of time. They are unable to tell which type of corruption that it is. Further investigation searching for bite injuries would be needed to discern if Bitten Based Corruption.

(Note: Should a player wish to steal this device, they must submit a Lore Ticket for Approval.)

* Civilians

With the restricted device inaccessible to civilians, they are left with the only option of looking for Visual Signs of corruption.

(Note: Should a player wish to create an item that can identify corruption, a lore ticket must be submitted. Please note that these items are extremely rare and require an understanding of corruption and often group effort to make.)

* The Corrupted

The corrupted are able to tell that they are corrupted. They may begin to experience thoughts desiring magic or feel a hunger for it beyond that of Visual Signs.

How is Magical Corruption Obtained

* Outside the Veil / When Veil is Down

Casting or using magic outside the veil is 100% corruption. To prevent instant character death, it only causes 2pts of corruption. See World Index for what defines using magic.

Casting Active magic of any kind outside the veil without a mana battery or magical item that doesn't draw from outside magic will cause corruption.

* Inside the Veil

Casting or using magic outside the total mana a person has will cause corruption. For each use of 1 mana beyond mana limits, its 1pt of corruption.

Using Hud

Reaching 0 Mana and choosing to cast a spell beyond that point. Causing the excessive use of mana and a Stage of Magical Corruption.

Not Using Hud

Performing a Powerful Magical Feat beyond the capabilities that a character may have magically. Some examples of these Powerful Acts of Magic can be the following:

Performing a Large Scale Ritual Alone
Casting a Resurrection without Assistance
City Wide Magical Act Alone
Creating a Permanent or Long Lasting Portal Alone

WHAT ARE ABERRATIONS?

Aberrations, also known as The Corrupt due to their connection with tainted magic, are powerful supernatural beings that prey on anything or anyone possessing magic. Their existence is not fully understood, and their origin remains unknown. Rather than emerging out of nowhere, they manifest when magic is abused, each bearing a unique crystalline core that mirrors their unnatural existence. The hierarchy of Aberrations is delineated by levels of magical prowess, categorized from 1 to 10, with distinct rings encircling their cores. These rings symbolize various tiers of power, intricately connected to their respective levels. An Aberration with one ring on its core is categorized as Level one. The levels of Aberrations remain undisclosed until after the creature's defeat, at which point the core is dropped, located within the midst of the Aberration.

HOW ARE THEY CREATED?

Aberrations are formed when an individual sustains corruption through the use or abuse of magic or a bite by an Aberration. They can also be created by other Aberrations, originating in the form of a bite. Within 48 hours of a bite, unless medical attention is sought, a bitten victim will undergo transformation. Corruption obtained through channeling magic is incurable. If an individual becomes an Aberration, it signifies character death and permadeath, as the 'soul' (the essence of one's individuality) is utterly destroyed.

HOW DO YOU TRANSFORM INTO ABERRATIONS?

Causes of transformation into an Aberration include citizens abusing their magic, using magic items that lead to corruption, or simply accumulating excessive amounts of corruption over time. On a molecular level, the cause of the actual transformation is due to the corrupted magic using the body and/or vessel of the infected individual as it's playground. Corruption, being wild and unpredictable, changes the vessel into a twisted and unrecognizable new form. A bite from an Aberration is magical in nature, and not just physical, which is why it is able to ultimately kill within 48 hours and slower than channeled corruption as channeled corruption goes directly to the "soul".

WHAT DOES CORRUPTION LOOK LIKE?

Corruption exposure may appear as many things, depending on the one exposed and the type of exposure. For instance, a vampire's appearance might undergo a transformation distinct from that of a heavily furred werewolf when influenced by corruption. If it is via channeling magic that they were exposed to corruption, an individual may notice their fingers and veins turning to an inky black hue. This would continue until the entire visible surface was of that same hue. If bitten, the area in which was wounded would take on this inky hue and spread out from there, turning tissue, veins and any substance within the individual into that inky black. BOTH types of exposure will eventually lead to the entire body and whatever is akin to a 'soul' of the victim, turning into a black-like ooze/ick - though each will have a set appearance, they share the same sticky black epidermis.

WHAT'S THE MISUNDERSTANDING ABOUT MAGIC?

Initially, the corruption was misunderstood to be a contagious and dangerous disease. This led to a general fear of anything associated with magic, and magic users were treated as threats, often exiled or destroyed. Many also believe that corruption is necrotic (dead/undead) in nature, which is false. They are RAW tainted magic which is a category of it's own entirely. Corruption falls into its own category.

WHAT WAS THE UNVEILING OF THE SOURCE?

Over time, it was discovered that the root cause of the corruption was within magic itself. Something unknown had changed in magic, leading to the pollution. To address this, the "veil" was created. It is a magical and mechanical device connected to a generator fueled by magic and installed over many cities across the globe. These magitech generators are entrusted to those unknown to the public. More on corruption is still being discovered to this day.

Facts & Questions

* What happens if I bite or eat an Aberration?

You won't get corrupted unless the Aberration bites you! If you manage to bite / eat it while its still alive, you'll get really REALLY sick while digesting it. If you try to eat it while its dead, you'd be eating ash. So, you'd also get really sick! Eating Aberrations is ill advised, but since when did anyone ever listen to what was good for them?

Can Aberrations tell who is corrupted?

Aberrations do NOT have the ability to tell who is and who isn't corrupted. They are just as in the dark as everyone else!

* Harvesting Samples of Aberrations

When an Aberration is alive, when it loses a biological part of itself like a limb or blood. That substance decays into black Ash. This process happens rapidly and makes it extremely hard to get anything but black Ash from an Aberration when it comes to its Biology.

I'm Corrupted, What Now?

When a player character is corrupted, it can be a big change for a character. Players are often left with questions. How do I rp corrupt? How does it affect my roleplay? What details do I need to know?

That's where #Lore Inquiry tickets come in. When a character is corrupted, they can experiment with themselves to see how their body has changed and how it affects their day to day life!

How do I rp an Aberration?

Players can't come in as Aberrations unless they are Dungeon Masters playing an NPC. But if someone's character gets 3 points of magical corruption or is bitten & doesn't get treated within 48hrs, they can become an Aberration?

But how do you go about roleplaying this?

Why, you submit a Lore ticket! Dungeon Masters will work with players wanting to go the Aberration route & help them figure out what core level they are and the combat rules behind running one!

* Aberrations Death & Whats Left Behind

When an Aberration dies, its entire being and biological components turned to black ash. Anything not connected to its Biology is left behind along with its Core.

This could mean its weapon was left behind or the currency it once carried.

Corruption & Aberration Researching

When doing research roleplay, we ask that players roleplay out the research and make one research roll per post. Then, submit the logs in a #Lore Inquiry tickets. Researching can be challenging at times, especially if you don't have substance or hints to go off of. So if a player wants help in research, they could request a DM for a research event or even open a ticket early to ask for hints or substance they can use in their rp while doing the research. After, they can get more details!

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