mabriss lethe
2006-12-24, 10:06 PM
Imagine a character who carries a curse so virulent that it has become a volitile source of power. The curse is indiscriminant and so requires constant vigilance on the part of the Accursed. One slip up and the wrong person could suffer. That was the idea I had. I haven't worked out many hard and fast details, and I'd be glad to hear people's opinions. If I get it hammered out the way I like, I have a PrC in the works that might fit in with it nicely.
Feat: Accursed
Prereqs: must be chosen during character creation
Long ago, three mortals, Amman, Shegul, and Garenwyn witnessed the lingering death of a fallen god. They each passed him by, doing nothing, and were cursed by his dying words. Those curses linger still in the blood of their descendants. As a scion of one such bloodline, the character carries a magical contagion of misfortune everywhere he goes. The curse manifests differently for each bloodline. As a death curse fueled by the dying breath of god, it can never be lifted. (or at least would take a monsterously impossible quest to do so.) The character is stuck with it. These curses are virulent, constantly active, affecting friend and foe alike unless the character does something to contain it. If they're judiciously used, they are a powerful weapon. The curses are fairly easy to contain, but doing so severly inconveniences the character. All curses function as supernatural abilities. I'll briefly examine each vector the curse manifests through, then have a section at the end to detail the curse itself.
The evil eye: Amman's Curse
The character carries a minor disfigurement. One eye is a different color than the other. The unaffected eye is of a normal color for the character's race. The other, "evil" eye, is of a distinctly unnatural hue. It could be pale green, bloodshot with an orange iris, an oily black pit, or anything else. Whatever the color, it's warning. Anyone who looks into that evil eye will be cursed. The character gains a gaze attack that he cannot shut off as long as the eye is exposed. The character can only contain this curse by closing that eye or by wearing an eyepatch and either way, suffering the penalties for having only one eye (I cannot remember exactly what that penalty is offhand.) The target must make a will save of succumb to the magical curse. This curse only functions on a target that relies on vision and only when lighting conditions allow the target to see the character's uncovered eye.
The Bain Sidhe's Wail: Shegul's Curse
A dark birthmark marrs the character's throat. Its shape varies, but it always carries an ill favored association. Those who hear the character's harsh, rasping voice must make a will save or suffer the curse's power. This only affects targets within earshot who rely on hearing in some fashion. It doesn't matter what the character says, he'll transmit the curse to any who hear him. (this includes verbal spell components and the like.) The only way to contain the curse is to remain silent. In order to keep from accidentally cursing those around them, many of Shegul's kin have taken to wearing a gag-like mouthpiece.
The Jinxed Hand, Garenwyn's curse
On the palm of one hand (usually the left) The character has a large, dark blotch of a birthmark. Like a devilish Rorschach blot, the blemish looks like a representation of the target's deepest fear. The touch of flesh on flesh transmits this lonely curse. The only way to prevent it is to avoid physical contact with others. Usually by covering the character's body from head to toe. This curse doesn't affect the incorporeal, the etherial, etc. The target must have a physical body that the accursed can touch.
The powers of the curse:
I haven't exactly nailed down what this curse does. It never affects the character wielding it. He's just a vector for the misery of others. Another Accursed character can harm him with the curse, though, even if it's the same one. To begin with, the save DC for the curse is the usual for a spell cast as a 1st level sorceror. Additional feats could be purchased later to increase the curse's magnitude, duration, and save DC. whether the target saves or not, no target can be affected by the same curse twice in less than a 24 hour period. Here are a couple of variants I'm thinking of.
Version one: simple, low powered.
No matter how the curse is spread, its effects are the same. a -2 luck penalty to hit, ac, skills, etc The duration would be long enough to make it linger for a good long time. Maybe an hour. Since all of the curses are the same, only one of these three curses can affect a target at any given time.
Version two: curses of irony, higher powered
The curse is different depending on how it's conveyed. The evil eye causes temporary blindness, the bainsidhe's wail causes temporary deafness. The Jinxed Hand causes paralysis. A single target could concievably be under the influence of all three at once, though no character can be the vector for more than one of the curses.
Feat: Bound curse
Prereqs: must have the Accursed feat, either knowledge arcana or spellcraft 5 ranks.
By inscribing a complex sigil on himself using something temporary like ink, woad, or paint, an Accursed character can supress his curse for 24 hours without the need to resort to eye patches, gags, full body covering, etc. The sigil requires a knowledge:Arcana or Spellcraft skill roll of 20 to inscribe and loses its potency after 24 hours or if it is broken in some way (like washing it off, smearing or altering a portion of the design. The sigil will be either around the character's eye, his throat, or his wrist, depending on the exact curse he suffers from. Note that tattooing or otherwise permanently inscribing the sigil doesn't stop its power from fading after the 24 hour time limit has expired.
Feat: Accursed
Prereqs: must be chosen during character creation
Long ago, three mortals, Amman, Shegul, and Garenwyn witnessed the lingering death of a fallen god. They each passed him by, doing nothing, and were cursed by his dying words. Those curses linger still in the blood of their descendants. As a scion of one such bloodline, the character carries a magical contagion of misfortune everywhere he goes. The curse manifests differently for each bloodline. As a death curse fueled by the dying breath of god, it can never be lifted. (or at least would take a monsterously impossible quest to do so.) The character is stuck with it. These curses are virulent, constantly active, affecting friend and foe alike unless the character does something to contain it. If they're judiciously used, they are a powerful weapon. The curses are fairly easy to contain, but doing so severly inconveniences the character. All curses function as supernatural abilities. I'll briefly examine each vector the curse manifests through, then have a section at the end to detail the curse itself.
The evil eye: Amman's Curse
The character carries a minor disfigurement. One eye is a different color than the other. The unaffected eye is of a normal color for the character's race. The other, "evil" eye, is of a distinctly unnatural hue. It could be pale green, bloodshot with an orange iris, an oily black pit, or anything else. Whatever the color, it's warning. Anyone who looks into that evil eye will be cursed. The character gains a gaze attack that he cannot shut off as long as the eye is exposed. The character can only contain this curse by closing that eye or by wearing an eyepatch and either way, suffering the penalties for having only one eye (I cannot remember exactly what that penalty is offhand.) The target must make a will save of succumb to the magical curse. This curse only functions on a target that relies on vision and only when lighting conditions allow the target to see the character's uncovered eye.
The Bain Sidhe's Wail: Shegul's Curse
A dark birthmark marrs the character's throat. Its shape varies, but it always carries an ill favored association. Those who hear the character's harsh, rasping voice must make a will save or suffer the curse's power. This only affects targets within earshot who rely on hearing in some fashion. It doesn't matter what the character says, he'll transmit the curse to any who hear him. (this includes verbal spell components and the like.) The only way to contain the curse is to remain silent. In order to keep from accidentally cursing those around them, many of Shegul's kin have taken to wearing a gag-like mouthpiece.
The Jinxed Hand, Garenwyn's curse
On the palm of one hand (usually the left) The character has a large, dark blotch of a birthmark. Like a devilish Rorschach blot, the blemish looks like a representation of the target's deepest fear. The touch of flesh on flesh transmits this lonely curse. The only way to prevent it is to avoid physical contact with others. Usually by covering the character's body from head to toe. This curse doesn't affect the incorporeal, the etherial, etc. The target must have a physical body that the accursed can touch.
The powers of the curse:
I haven't exactly nailed down what this curse does. It never affects the character wielding it. He's just a vector for the misery of others. Another Accursed character can harm him with the curse, though, even if it's the same one. To begin with, the save DC for the curse is the usual for a spell cast as a 1st level sorceror. Additional feats could be purchased later to increase the curse's magnitude, duration, and save DC. whether the target saves or not, no target can be affected by the same curse twice in less than a 24 hour period. Here are a couple of variants I'm thinking of.
Version one: simple, low powered.
No matter how the curse is spread, its effects are the same. a -2 luck penalty to hit, ac, skills, etc The duration would be long enough to make it linger for a good long time. Maybe an hour. Since all of the curses are the same, only one of these three curses can affect a target at any given time.
Version two: curses of irony, higher powered
The curse is different depending on how it's conveyed. The evil eye causes temporary blindness, the bainsidhe's wail causes temporary deafness. The Jinxed Hand causes paralysis. A single target could concievably be under the influence of all three at once, though no character can be the vector for more than one of the curses.
Feat: Bound curse
Prereqs: must have the Accursed feat, either knowledge arcana or spellcraft 5 ranks.
By inscribing a complex sigil on himself using something temporary like ink, woad, or paint, an Accursed character can supress his curse for 24 hours without the need to resort to eye patches, gags, full body covering, etc. The sigil requires a knowledge:Arcana or Spellcraft skill roll of 20 to inscribe and loses its potency after 24 hours or if it is broken in some way (like washing it off, smearing or altering a portion of the design. The sigil will be either around the character's eye, his throat, or his wrist, depending on the exact curse he suffers from. Note that tattooing or otherwise permanently inscribing the sigil doesn't stop its power from fading after the 24 hour time limit has expired.