Source Horror Realms pg. 58
Disease can become a corruption when it causes long-lasting and physical changes to the body.
CatalystSuffering a magical disease for a prolonged period can induce the plagued corruption.
ProgressionYou carry the symptoms and appearance of one suffering from a disease, even if you’ve been cured of the illness that triggered your corruption or are otherwise normally immune to disease. Further, once you gain the plagued corruption, you lose any immunity to disease and cannot gain such immunity from magical spells or items or other effects. Only living creatures can gain this corruption.
Once per month, if you did not infect a number of creatures equal to or greater than your manifestation level with a disease you are carrying, you must attempt a Fortitude saving throw (DC = 15 + your manifestation level). If you fail, the next time you rest, you immediately gain a new disease of the GM’s choosing (without a further saving throw) and black out, losing control to the insidious delirium of the disease. You must seek out and infect any creature you can find before the next sunrise. If you succeed on your Fortitude saving throw or are prevented from infecting anyone for 1 day, the urge passes, but the DC of future saving throws to resist this temptation increases by 2. This increase is cumulative, but resets when your corruption progresses. Innocents you infect and then cure (or whose recovery you significantly assist, at the GM’s discretion) do not count toward this number, nor do those infected by others who were themselves infected before your corruption reached its current stage.
Corruption Stage 1: The first time your corruption progresses, any disease you suffer from becomes more tenacious. You take a –2 penalty on all saving throws to resist contracting a new disease, and your alignment shifts one step toward evil.
Corruption Stage 2: The second time your corruption progresses, diseases you suffer from become difficult to cure; the DC of a disease you are suffering from is increased by 10 for the purposes of caster level checks for spells such as remove disease to cure you from its effects. Your alignment shifts to evil.
Corruption Stage 3: The third time your corruption progresses, your disease saps your free will and the GM gains control of your character.
Removing the CorruptionCuring the corruption requires curing not only the underlying diseases you suffer from, but also the initial illness that triggered your corruption—this often necessitates the use of rare and elaborate treatments.
ManifestationsThe following are manifestations of the plagued corruption.
Accelerated AfflictionSource Horror Realms pg. 58
You can quicken diseases in others.
Gift: As a swift action, once per day per 2 manifestation levels you have (minimum once per day), you can cause one creature within 30 feet suffering from any diseases to attempt a saving throw against one randomly determined disease they are suffering. On a failed saving throw, they immediately take that disease’s damage. A successful save does not count toward the saving throws required to recover from the disease.
Stain: You take a –2 penalty to any one ability score of your choice.
Bodily BetrayalSource Horror Realms pg. 58
Your body betrays you at the worst moments.
Prerequisite: Accelerated affliction.
Gift: Once per day per manifestation level, you can make a touch attack on a creature and expose it to any disease you are carrying.
Stain: Plague sores make injuries more acutely painful. You take a –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, and concentration checks for 1 round after you are dealt lethal damage.
False HealthSource Horror Realms pg. 58
You can feign health and hide your symptoms.
Prerequisite: Accelerated affliction.
Gift: Once per day as a swift action, you can suppress the stain of your accelerated affliction for a number of hours equal to your manifestation level.
Stain: You take a –2 penalty on concentration checks while using false health.
Fevered DreamsSource Horror Realms pg. 58
Disease clouds your thoughts.
Prerequisite: Manifestation level 6th, infectious thoughts, miserable company.
Gift: The dreams of victims of the diseases you spread are apparent to you. Once per day while you rest, you can cause a number of sleeping victims of your disease up to your manifestation level to suffer the effects of one of these spells of your choice: dream, fear (upon awakening), nightmare, or suggestion (upon awakening).
Stain: You sleep poorly. You must rest for 12 hours each night to gain the full benefits of rest.
Infectious ThoughtsSource Horror Realms pg. 58
Your thoughts spread like your disease.
Prerequisite: Manifestation level 3rd, miserable company.
Gift: You can communicate telepathically with any creature within 10 feet suffering from any disease. At manifestation level 5th, the range increases to 30 feet. At manifestation level 7th, the range is 100 feet. At manifestation level 9th, the range is 1 mile.
Stain: Your ego becomes hard to contain. You take a –2 penalty on Will saving throws against effects with the emotion descriptor. At manifestation level 5th, the penalty doubles.
Living BreathSource Horror Realms pg. 59
The stink of disease carries on your breath.
Prerequisite: Manifestation level 5th, accelerated affliction, bodily betrayal.
Gift: When you use your bodily betrayal manifestation to expose a creature to a disease you are carrying, your breath carries the disease as well, potentially infecting all creatures within a 10-foot radius. These creatures gain a +2 bonus on the saving throw to resist the disease you are attempting to inflict with your bodily betrayal.
Stain: The disease shortens your breath and stiffens your limbs. You take a –2 penalty on all Strength- and Dexterity-based checks.
Miserable CompanySource Horror Realms pg. 59
Your disease’s symptoms become more apparent.
Gift: You gain a +2 bonus on Heal checks to recognize or treat diseases and on Charisma-based skill checks to influence creatures able to inflict disease or those suffering from a disease. At manifestation level 3rd, these bonuses double. Creatures with any diseases take a –2 penalty on any saving throws against mind-affecting effects you create.
Stain: You remain infectious for 1d4 days even after you are cured of any infectious disease (including your corruption plague), though you show no symptoms. At manifestation level 3rd, you remain infectious for 1d8 days.
Overwhelming WeaknessSource Horror Realms pg. 59
Disease saps your limbs of their strength.
Gift: Victims other than you who fail their initial saving throw against any disease effect you create become sickened for 24 hours.
Stain: The disease makes your limbs weak. You take a –2 penalty to Strength. This penalty stacks with the ability penalty from accelerated affliction if you chose Strength as your penalty.
Theft of AwarenessSource Horror Realms pg. 59
Your senses fail you, but the terrible disease you can inflict affords you access to the senses of those who suffer from it.
Prerequisite: Manifestation level 7th, infectious thoughts, miserable company.
Gift: As a move action, for as long as you concentrate, you can borrow the senses of any creature suffering from a disease effect you created, as long as the creature is within range of your infectious thoughts. Your body is effectively blind and deaf while you concentrate. The target can resist this intrusion with a successful Will saving throw. At manifestation level 9th, you can possess one such victim as per possession once per day as a standard action while you are already sharing its senses.
Stain: Your senses falter. You take a –4 penalty on Perception checks and Sense Motive checks while you are not using theft of awareness.
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