_"The void does not break you all at once. It seeps in like cold water through stone—at first unnoticed, then unstoppable."_ The **Corruption system** represents how a character’s soul is warped by the void between the stars. Corruption is not simply danger; it is **temptation**—a slow trade of humanity for power. ### **Gaining Corruption Dice** Certain effects—void magic, forbidden rites, cursed places, or spiritual trauma—cause you to gain one or more **Corruption Dice**. - These dice are **marked** with the _Corruption_ modifier. - You **add corruption dice to your pool** whenever you roll for an action. - Corruption dice remain in your pool **indefinitely**, growing in number as you court darkness. > [!warning] > There is **no natural way** to lose corruption dice. Cleansing is the only reliable method, and it is slow, costly, and humiliating. ### **Rolling Corruption Dice** Corruption dice act as normal dice in your pool, but if they roll **1 or 6**, they **trigger the corruption tables**: - **1 – Backlash:** The darkness lashes out. Roll once on the **Backlash Table** and resolve its effect. - **6 – Compromised Success:** You succeed, but the victory is tainted. Roll once on the **Compromised Success Table** and resolve its effect. **Important:** - If multiple corruption dice show **1 or 6 in the same roll**, you only roll the table **once**. - All triggering dice still count as full successes. A 6 on a corruption die **always counts** as a success (and at certain corruption levels it may count as 2 successes—see Boon Track). - **Persistence:** Corruption dice do **not** leave your pool after triggering. They remain, continuing to whisper. - **Critical Purge:** If two corruption dice trigger on the **same result** (double 1s or double 6s), you may remove one of those dice after resolving the effect. ### **Backlash Table (Corruption Die = 1)** When you roll a **1** on a corruption die, roll **2d6** on this table: | 2d6 | Backlash Effect + Narrative Prompt | | ------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **2** | **Possessed:** A hostile spirit seizes control for a few heartbeats. → _“Your body jerks like a puppet—what’s the first thing you strike or destroy before you can wrench control back?”_ | | **3** | **Void Surge:** A burst of void energy harms you or your surroundings. → _“The air tears open with a shriek. What around you is shattered or maimed as the Veil recoils?”_ | | **4** | **Horrid Vision:** Overwhelming hallucinations leave you staggered (lose 1 APR next round). → _“What impossible thing do you see crawling out of the walls?”_ | | **5** | **Spiritual Bleed:** The Veil marks you. Nearby spirits become hostile or drawn to you. → _“Which spirit’s eyes are suddenly on you, and how do you feel its hunger?”_ | | **6** | **Ruinous Impulse:** Dark whispers urge a rash act. → _“What self-sabotaging urge surges through you, and do you fight it or obey?”_ | | **7** | **Unstable Surge:** Mark a normal die in this roll as risky. If it fails, you take 1 Fatigue. → _“The power flares too hot—how does your body or gear crack under the strain?”_ | | **8** | **Fragmented Will:** You gain a Slight or –1 die to Spirit rolls for the rest of the scene. → _“A voice inside mocks your failure. What weakness does it whisper about you?”_ | | **9** | **Soul Scar:** You take a lasting trauma: _whispers, tremors, hollowed eyes_. → _“What mark does everyone see now that you can’t hide?”_ | | **10** | **Feral Outburst:** You lash out at the nearest creature (friend or foe). → _“Whose blood is on your hands when you come to?”_ | | **11** | **Draw the Darkness:** Your corruption leaves a visible mark. → _“Who notices the black veins crawling under your skin?”_ | | **12** | **Catastrophic Release:** GM chooses a major dark event. → _“The darkness explodes outward. Who or what is forever changed by this eruption?”_ | --- ### **Compromised Success Table (Corruption Die = 6)** When you roll a **6** on a corruption die, roll **2d6** on this table: |2d6|Complication Effect + Narrative Prompt| |---|---| |**2**|**Corruption Grows:** Gain +1 corruption die instead of removing it. → _“The power lingers like a parasite—how does it feel crawling deeper into you?”_| |**3**|**Collateral Damage:** Your success harms an ally, resource, or innocents. → _“Who suffers for your victory, and can you bear to look at them?”_| |**4**|**Tainted Insight:** You succeed but absorb forbidden knowledge. –1 die to Spirit rolls until cleansed. → _“What terrible truth did you glimpse that you can’t unsee?”_| |**5**|**Marked by the Veil:** Entities from beyond sense you clearly now. → _“Whose eyes are you sure are watching you when you’re alone?”_| |**6**|**Reckless Power:** Success is amplified, but you take 1 Injury or 1 Fatigue. → _“How does the force rip through your flesh as you push too far?”_| |**7**|**Lose Control:** You cannot fully direct the success. → _“What vital element slips beyond your control, twisting the outcome?”_| |**8**|**Exposed Weakness:** Your success reveals a vulnerability. → _“Who now knows the crack in your armor, and how will they use it?”_| |**9**|**Debt Owed:** A dark entity aided your success. → _“Whose voice whispers ‘You owe me,’ and what do you fear it will ask?”_| |**10**|**Bleed Through:** Your success corrupts your surroundings. → _“What nearby life, place, or object blackens and warps in your wake?”_| |**11**|**Lingering Influence:** –1 die to Spirit rolls for the rest of the scene. → _“What shadow now clings to your thoughts, making you hesitate?”_| |**12**|**Irreversible Cost:** Success permanently costs something. → _“What part of yourself, your bond, or your body did the darkness take?”_| --- ### **The Whispering Boon Track** The void rewards those who carry corruption for long enough to hear its song. These **boons stack** and remain active while you hold the required number of corruption dice: |Corruption Dice|Boon Effect + Narrative Prompt| |---|---| |**1–2 Dice**|**Faint Whispers:** No mechanical benefit. Just a sense of being _watched_. → _“Whose voice calls your name from the corner of your dreams?”_| |**3 Dice**|**Veil Touched:** You may treat a corruption die’s **6 as 2 successes**. → _“How does the world feel thinner when you draw on this strength?”_| |**4 Dice**|**Void Siphon:** Once per scene, reroll a failed die. If the reroll fails again, add +1 corruption die. → _“What unseen hand steadies yours when you shouldn’t have another chance?”_| |**5 Dice**|**Eldritch Channel:** When a corruption die is part of an attack or spell, you may add **+2 damage/effect**. Doing so **adds +1 corruption die**. → _“What alien energy crackles through your veins as you strike?”_| |**6 Dice**|**Eye of the Abyss:** Once per scene, ask the GM a single question about the scene, an NPC, or a location and get an unnerving, precise answer. → _“What vast, cold intelligence answers your call from beyond the stars?”_| |**7 Dice**|**Voidspawn’s Favor:** Once per day, **ignore all failure on a roll**, treating it as a success. Doing so immediately draws the direct attention of a twisted void spirit. → _“Whose claws close around your mind, promising a price later?”_| |**8+ Dice**|**The Hollow Crown:** The void spirit _moves in_. You are permanently altered—part-haunted, part-possessed. Roll once on the **Mutation & Possession Table**. → _“What part of you is no longer yours to command?”_| --- ### **Mutation & Possession Table (8+ Dice)** |2d6|Mutation / Possession Effect + Narrative Prompt| |---|---| |**2**|**Parasitic Twin:** A fragment of the void manifests as a visible growth (eye, mouth, limb). It whispers and can roll one corruption die independently each scene. → _“What does it say when no one else is listening?”_| |**3**|**Hollowed Heart:** You are immune to fear and emotional magic, but Bonds no longer refresh—you feel nothing lasting. → _“How do your allies see the absence in your eyes?”_| |**4**|**Eldritch Hunger:** You must feed your corruption (steal life, consume spirits) to stay stable. Each feeding gives you one automatic boon level. → _“What will you do when the hunger gnaws and there’s nothing left to take?”_| |**5**|**Living Portal:** Once per scene, a void entity can step through you. Each use causes you 1 Injury. → _“How does it feel when something crawls through your bones to emerge in the world?”_| |**6**|**Unnatural Majesty:** +1 die to Intimidation, but NPCs instinctively distrust you. → _“What do you see in their faces when they realize you’re not entirely mortal?”_| |**7**|**Void Familiar:** A twisted void-spirit is bonded to you. It can act for you but may override your will. → _“When it speaks, is it your voice or its own?”_| |**8**|**Veil-Torn Body:** You are partially incorporeal (ignore mundane weapons, slip through barriers), but suffer +1 Injury from silver or wards. → _“What parts of you flicker out of reality when you’re under stress?”_| |**9**|**Omen-Bearer:** Allies nearby must roll 2d6 when they fail; on a 2–3, their failure worsens catastrophically. → _“What dark pattern follows you wherever you go?”_| |**10**|**Eyes of the Abyss:** You pierce illusions and see spirits, but you no longer sleep peacefully—the void shows you horrors nightly. → _“What truths have you seen that make your hands tremble?”_| |**11**|**Unkillable Husk:** You may act at 0 Health once per scene, but each use adds a mutation. → _“What part of you stops being human each time you rise again?”_| |**12**|**True Possession:** The void spirit fully cohabits your body. It grants new powers but can act without your consent. → _“What does it take control for first?”_| --- ### **Cleansing Corruption** The only way to fully remove corruption dice is through cleansing: dangerous rituals, pilgrimages, or costly sacrifices. - Cleansing is **slow and narrative**—weeks of fasting, lost Bonds, destruction of precious resources. - Most cleansing attempts **fail or worsen the corruption** if rushed. > [!danger] > Cleansing makes you weaker. You lose the Boon Track’s rewards and the power you’ve grown used to. This is why many spiritbinders choose to carry their corruption, whispering: _“I’ll cleanse later…”_ --- ### **Tone and Use** Corruption is designed to be **tempting**. It gives characters real, usable power at the cost of irreversible transformation. - Early corruption feels safe—**harmless whispers**, no penalties. - By the time the power kicks in (3+ dice), you are hooked. - At 8+ dice, the void takes its due. > **Ask every player holding corruption dice:** > _“Do you keep feeding the darkness for more power… or try to claw your way back to the light?”_ --- 👉 Would you like me to now **design a compact reference page** (like a two-page spread) with this entire system laid out beautifully for players/GM? Or should I write a **sidebar about how corruption interacts with Bonds, Social Encounters, and Spiritbinding**, so the consequences ripple into every pillar of play?