Wither Corruption

A rare condition found in those who have mishandled Wither, or have felt the horrific touch of creatures such as a Wither Wraith. It is practically a death sentence to anyone but those lucky enough to be near an experienced scholar, who could both recognize this rare illness and know how to treat it. At this time, the only guarunteed cure is Blood of the First Vein, a substance that has not been identified since the Gap, and thus "treatment" usually involves isolating and killing the patient before the corruption can spread.

Symptoms

Wither corruption has been observed to progress in four stages.

Passive Stage

This stage occurs when a creature has five or more Wither ranks (usually given by Wither creatures). They begin to hear strange whispers in their mind – tempting them to destroy – and gain thick, black markings along their neck and face. Such an afflicted creature gains 2 Ability Drain to their Charisma score (which cannot be removed without removing this condition), and does not restore Stamina on a ten minutes uninterrupted rest. They may still gain Stamina from abilities such as Inspiring Boost, or by taking an 8 hours rest. If a creature reaches ten Wither ranks, or stays in the passive stage for more than a month, the corruption advances to the next stage.

First Stage

All Wither ranks disappear from the afflicted creature, and take a new, terrifying form. On top of the negative modifiers from the Passive Stage, the corrupted gains 4 Ability Drain to their Constitution score (which cannot be removed without removing this condition), and their Sanity cap reduces by half (e.g. if capable of 90 Sanity, they drop to 45 Sanity, and cannot gain more than that new maximum). This causes the creature to radiate a Neutral Evil aura, although this does not yet affect their alignment. Such creatures are often sickly in appearance, and many unhealthy creatures simply die from this change. If the afflicted creatures would gain another Wither rank, or stays in this stage for more than a week, the corruption advances to the next stage.

Second Stage

The afflicted begins to deteriorate in both Body and Mind, becoming a shadow of the creature they once were. This creature no longer has access to abilities granted to them by Divinity, Anguish, or Enlightenment, or from their Mantle of Power. If the creature was not already, their alignment changes to Neutral Evil. The strange whispers become more forceful, requiring a DC 30 Will Save to ignore while awake, or resulting in a failure outright while the creature is asleep. Creatures who fail this save are affected as per Dominate Person (even if they would otherwise be immune), and seek out the nearest Wither creature for the next 72 hours. The afflicted will do so to the best of their ability, employing the use of magic items, spells, or the fastest nearby form of travel. On a successful Will save, the creature takes 1d6 Sanity damage that cannot be reduced by other means. If the afflicted reaches the Wither creature they are seeking, or if more than three days since reaching this stage, the corruption advances to the next stage.

Final Stage

What is, becomes what was. The afflicted becomes a Wither creature, and is forever tied to the will of the void. All negative modifiers given by this corruption become positive modifiers instead, and are permanent changes to the creature’s physiology. Any history of Apotheosis and its aftereffects are either removed or corrupted, and any Mantles of Power flee to other hosts. While such creatures often retain their memories, they have twisted views of their past, and are incapable of love. Player characters who reach this stage become NPCs, as Wither creatures rarely have a will of their own.

Type

Parasitic

Origin

Alien

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Extremely Rare