Xuldarinar
2016-10-18, 03:44 PM
CEREBROTIC
Maddening revelations have overtaken you. As the energies of a realm beyond comprehension flow through you, it rips at your mind, threatening to destroy what remains of your psyche and to pull you into its waiting maw.
CATALYST
Cerebrotic corruption occurs after dwelling upon the nature of the realm beyond the great beyond. Just as often than not, this is purposeful and utilizes an elaborate rite, but there are those who's nightmares become plagued after exposure to something of this realm.
Progression
Cerebrotic corruption leaves its victim with horrific nightmares each night. Whenever you sleep, be it natural or magically induced, you must succeed at a Will save (DC = 15 + your manifestation level) or you become pulled more deeply into them, causing them to worsen and grow ever more vivid. If you belong to a race that ordinarily does not sleep, you become required to sleep. While you can never remember them with any clarity, horrific snippets at best, you remain aware that the nightmares exist. They often begin as maddening landscapes, blurred by impossible weather conditions.
-Corruption Stage 1:The first time the dreams worsen you begin to see horrific architecture in the distance within your dreams. Your mind begins to suffer under the strain, causing you to take a permanent -2 penalty to your Wisdom score.
-Corruption Stage 2: The second time this happens, you begin to witness visits from hooded cultists, their robes appearing speckled if not caked in ooze. Your mind begins to buckle, causing you to take an additional -2 penalty to your Wisdom score.
-Corruption Stage 3: The third time this happens, you are violently expelled from existence, only a strange residue left behind. Only powerful magics, such as miracle or wish, can be used to bring you back. Even if you do get brought back, you return as an insane NPC with the aberration type under the GM's control.
Removing the Corruption
Curing cerebrotic corruption requires purging all memories of your nightmares and the triggering vision from your mind. This, alone, may not always be sufficient, especially upon reaching Corruption Stage 2. If purging the memories alone is not enough, then doing so in conjunction with the mind blank spell will end your corruption in all but the most dire of cases.
MANIFESTATIONS
The following are manifestations of the cerebrotic corruption.
Aching Dread
The nightmares have become clearer, and you can force but a taste of them into the minds of others.
-Prerequisite: Manifestation level 2nd.
-Gift: A number of times per day equal to your manifestation level - 1, as a standard action, you can attempt to inflict visions from your nightmares upon all enemies within 10-ft of you. Enemies effected become shaken for 1 round per manifestation level, unless they succeed at a Will save.Those that succeed do not witness the visions at all. This is a spell-like ability, and a mind-affecting fear effect. Upon reaching manifestation level 4th, targets become frightened instead.
-Stain: Whenever you attempt to afflict others with aching dread, you must take care not to relive them yourself. When casting this ability, you are forced to make a Will save or become shaken for the duration. Upon reaching manifestation level 4th, you risk becoming frightened instead.
-Special: Upon receiving this manifestation, you must take both the gift and the stain, even with the useful corruption or vile corruption variants.
Dimension Rift
Your nightmares have revealed to you the fragile nature of reality, and you have learned to abuse it at your own peril.
-Prerequisite: Manifestation level 4th
-Gift: Once per day, as a standard action, you can transfer yourself from your location to any location within 400ft + 40ft. per manifestation level. You may do this by visualizing the location, or thinking of a direction and distance. However, when using this ability you never arrive instantaneously. Roll 1d6 to determine the number of rounds it takes for you to arrive at your location. You can take with you yourself, and equivalent to one additional willing medium creature per 2 manifestation levels (Large counts as 2, Huge counts as 4, and so forth). No individual teleported in this manner may be carrying more than their maximum load when teleported. All creatures transported in this manner must be in contact with one another and at least one must be in contact with you.
-Stain: Traveling utilizing this ability is wrought with peril. You are forced to succeed at a Will save or take 1d6 points of damage per round you were missing. Although no memory of the travel remains, your body bares strange claw marks, scratches, and bites. If the damage is enough to kill you, you simply never arrive at your location. If others are teleported with you and you take damage, they take damage as well.
-Special: Upon receiving this manifestation, you must take both the gift and the stain, even with the useful corruption or vile corruption variants.
Distorted Presence
The world around you begins to warp subtly.
-Gift: You gain a +1 deflection bonus to your AC and a +1 bonus on Reflex saves.
-Stain: Subtle distortions around you make it harder to pick out details correctly. You take a -2 penalty on all Perception checks.
Dreadful Inspiration
The horrors of beyond linger in your mind, and they can serve as inspiration when trying to instill fear in others.
-Gift: From the frightful images you've witnessed at night, you have acquired a knack for scaring others. You gain a +2 bonus on intimidate checks and the DCs of fear effects you create increases by 1. At manifestation level 3rd, the bonus on Intimidate checks increases to +4 and the DC increases by 2 instead of 1.
-Stain: Your nightmares begin to linger with you more through the day, the images of the places you have witnessed becoming more vivid. You take a -2 penalty on saving throws against fear effects, and you lose any immunities to fear you might otherwise possess. You gain immunity to effects that would remove your fear. At manifestation level 3rd, the penalty changes to -4.
Finger of Expulsion
You teeter on the edge of oblivion, and you have learned how to push others in your stead.
-Prerequisites: Manifestation level 7th, Corruption level 2.
-Gift: Once per day, as a standard action, you can reach out and roughly trace the silhouette of your intended target. This target must be within 25ft + 5ft per manifestation level of you. Your target is then forced to make a Will save or be violently pushed from reality, subjecting them to the effects of your Corruption at Level 3.
-Stain: Whenever you attempt to use this ability, if your foe succeeds on their will save you must make a Will save yourself or your Corruption advances to Level 3.
-Special: Upon receiving this manifestation, you must take both the gift and the stain, even with the useful corruption or vile corruption variants.
Incite Visitation
What horrors you have witnessed, you have learned to draw into reality for a time.
-Prerequisite: Manifestation Level 3rd.
-Gift: Once per day, you can use summon nature's ally as a spell-like ability, but only of a form up to 1 spell-level below your manifestation level. Creatures called are statistically identical to those normally summoned but with the Mutant Template, but are generally unrecognizable, any physical resemblance being in mockery at best. Upon reaching manifestation level 6th, you can use this ability 2/day.
-Stain: Upon using Incite Visitation, you must make a Will save or the creatures called turn against you. If you try summoning multiple creatures, you must roll a save for each individual summoned.
-Special: Upon receiving this manifestation, you must take both the gift and the stain, even with the useful corruption or vile corruption variants.
Insightful Whispers
Even in your waking hours, a constant whisper hangs within your mind in an unfamiliar tongue. Occasionally, you can glean some form of insight from them.
-Gift: You gain a +4 bonus on Knowledge checks and sense Motive checks to see through disguises, notice when a creature is under enchantment, or act on a surprise round.
-Stain: You are distracted by the constant chattering within your mind. Roll twice on initiative checks and take the lower result. You also take a -2 penalty on concentration checks. At manifestation level 3rd, this penalty changes to -4.
Qlippothi Visitation
You have learned to draw through creatures native to the furthest reaches of the Great Beyond, where a hatred of sin has festered for since time immemorial.
-Prerequisites: Incite Visitation.
-Gift: When you use incite visitation, you may choose to summon a Qlippoth instead of creatures normally called. Qlippoth summoned in this way lack the mutant template, unlike most creatures summoned via Incite Visitation. To the following Summon Nature's Ally lists, add the qlippoth in parenthesis strictly for the purpose of using Incite Visitation; II (Cythnigot), IV (Thognorok), VI (Shoggti), VII (Nyogoth), VIII (Chernobue, Gongorian).
-Stain: Creatures summoned using Incite Visitation are more likely to turn on you, the closer your soul would be judged to the abyss. If you are Chaotic Evil, you take a -4 penalty to the save made to prevent creatures summoned by Incite Visitation from turning on you. This penalty decreases by 1 for each step you are away from Chaotic Evil (to a minimum of -0 at Lawful Good).
Raver's Eye
When you attempt to inflict the horrors from beyond upon another, you can channel a mote of that horrific realm.
-Prerequisite: Aching Dread, Manifestation Level 4th,
-Gift: Your Aching Dread becomes agonizing to all who witness its vision. Any creature that fails their Will save against Aching Dread takes 3d6 points of damage as its very form is warped and distorted.
-Stain: A eyeball forms upon the palm of your right hand, inflicting upon you a -2 penalty to Dexterity-based checks utilizing that hand and Charisma-based checks except for intimidate while the eyeball is visible. If you fail your Will save against Aching dread, you also take 3d6 points of damage.
Soul-Blasting Dread
You have learned to draw greater horrors from beyond and inflict them upon others.
-Prerequisites: Aching Dread, Manifestation Level 6th.
-Gift: When you attempt to use Aching Dread, you may choose for it to center not upon yourself, but effect creatures within a 20-ft. radius burst somewhere within 100ft. + 10ft. per manifestation level of you. Additionally, creatures risk becoming Panicked instead of Frightened. Attempting to use Aching Dread in this manner uses two uses instead of 1.
-Stain: When attempting to use Aching Dread in this manner, you must attempt a Will save even if you are not within its radius, and you must attempt it before anyone else. If you fail this Will save, you are the only one effected by it, regardless of the location of the effect.
-Special: Upon receiving this manifestation, you must take both the gift and the stain, even with the useful corruption or vile corruption variants.
Well of Madness
You have looked deep within your dreams of madness, and power has answered.
-Prerequisite: Manifestation level 2nd, ability to cast spells.
-Gift: You gain an extra spell slot in your daily allotment that you can use to cast any spell you know with the mind-affecting descriptor, or of the teleportation subschool.
-Stain: Whenever you would be effected by a mind-affecting effect, you are forced to attempt an additional Will save or become confused for the duration of the effect.
RESOURCES
Work in progress additional resources associated with this corruption.
Cerebrotic Creature (CR +1)
Cerebrotic creatures have delved deeply into forbidden tomes, and have become touched by the Outside.
-Quick Rules: Counts as aberration; darkvision 60ft.; +1 to AC and Reflex saves; -2 rolls based on Wisdom; -2 skill checks on Dexterity and Charisma (excluding Intimidate); +2 intimidate; Aching Dread (target within 10ft. must succeed on Will save or become frightened for 1/2 HD rounds and take 3d6 points of damage. Usable 1/2 /day) (DC 10 + 1/2 HD + Charisma modifier); Summon (see table; 100%);
-Rebuild Rules: Type changes to aberration; Senses darkvision 60ft.; AC Deflection bonus increases by 1; Skills -2 circumstance penalty on Dex and Cha based skills excluding Intimidate;Special Attacks Aching Dread (target within 10ft. must succeed on Will save or become frightened for 1/2 HD rounds and take 3d6 points of damage. Usable 1/2 /day), Summon (see table; 100%); Ability Scores -4 Wis.
Cerebrotic Creature HD
Qlippoth or Mutant
Spell Level
8 or Fewer
Cythnigot
2nd
9-10
Mutant Cyclops
5th
11-12
Shoggti
6th
13-14
Nyogoth
7th
15-16
Gongorian
8th
17 or more
Mutant Storm Giant
9th
Maddening revelations have overtaken you. As the energies of a realm beyond comprehension flow through you, it rips at your mind, threatening to destroy what remains of your psyche and to pull you into its waiting maw.
CATALYST
Cerebrotic corruption occurs after dwelling upon the nature of the realm beyond the great beyond. Just as often than not, this is purposeful and utilizes an elaborate rite, but there are those who's nightmares become plagued after exposure to something of this realm.
Progression
Cerebrotic corruption leaves its victim with horrific nightmares each night. Whenever you sleep, be it natural or magically induced, you must succeed at a Will save (DC = 15 + your manifestation level) or you become pulled more deeply into them, causing them to worsen and grow ever more vivid. If you belong to a race that ordinarily does not sleep, you become required to sleep. While you can never remember them with any clarity, horrific snippets at best, you remain aware that the nightmares exist. They often begin as maddening landscapes, blurred by impossible weather conditions.
-Corruption Stage 1:The first time the dreams worsen you begin to see horrific architecture in the distance within your dreams. Your mind begins to suffer under the strain, causing you to take a permanent -2 penalty to your Wisdom score.
-Corruption Stage 2: The second time this happens, you begin to witness visits from hooded cultists, their robes appearing speckled if not caked in ooze. Your mind begins to buckle, causing you to take an additional -2 penalty to your Wisdom score.
-Corruption Stage 3: The third time this happens, you are violently expelled from existence, only a strange residue left behind. Only powerful magics, such as miracle or wish, can be used to bring you back. Even if you do get brought back, you return as an insane NPC with the aberration type under the GM's control.
Removing the Corruption
Curing cerebrotic corruption requires purging all memories of your nightmares and the triggering vision from your mind. This, alone, may not always be sufficient, especially upon reaching Corruption Stage 2. If purging the memories alone is not enough, then doing so in conjunction with the mind blank spell will end your corruption in all but the most dire of cases.
MANIFESTATIONS
The following are manifestations of the cerebrotic corruption.
Aching Dread
The nightmares have become clearer, and you can force but a taste of them into the minds of others.
-Prerequisite: Manifestation level 2nd.
-Gift: A number of times per day equal to your manifestation level - 1, as a standard action, you can attempt to inflict visions from your nightmares upon all enemies within 10-ft of you. Enemies effected become shaken for 1 round per manifestation level, unless they succeed at a Will save.Those that succeed do not witness the visions at all. This is a spell-like ability, and a mind-affecting fear effect. Upon reaching manifestation level 4th, targets become frightened instead.
-Stain: Whenever you attempt to afflict others with aching dread, you must take care not to relive them yourself. When casting this ability, you are forced to make a Will save or become shaken for the duration. Upon reaching manifestation level 4th, you risk becoming frightened instead.
-Special: Upon receiving this manifestation, you must take both the gift and the stain, even with the useful corruption or vile corruption variants.
Dimension Rift
Your nightmares have revealed to you the fragile nature of reality, and you have learned to abuse it at your own peril.
-Prerequisite: Manifestation level 4th
-Gift: Once per day, as a standard action, you can transfer yourself from your location to any location within 400ft + 40ft. per manifestation level. You may do this by visualizing the location, or thinking of a direction and distance. However, when using this ability you never arrive instantaneously. Roll 1d6 to determine the number of rounds it takes for you to arrive at your location. You can take with you yourself, and equivalent to one additional willing medium creature per 2 manifestation levels (Large counts as 2, Huge counts as 4, and so forth). No individual teleported in this manner may be carrying more than their maximum load when teleported. All creatures transported in this manner must be in contact with one another and at least one must be in contact with you.
-Stain: Traveling utilizing this ability is wrought with peril. You are forced to succeed at a Will save or take 1d6 points of damage per round you were missing. Although no memory of the travel remains, your body bares strange claw marks, scratches, and bites. If the damage is enough to kill you, you simply never arrive at your location. If others are teleported with you and you take damage, they take damage as well.
-Special: Upon receiving this manifestation, you must take both the gift and the stain, even with the useful corruption or vile corruption variants.
Distorted Presence
The world around you begins to warp subtly.
-Gift: You gain a +1 deflection bonus to your AC and a +1 bonus on Reflex saves.
-Stain: Subtle distortions around you make it harder to pick out details correctly. You take a -2 penalty on all Perception checks.
Dreadful Inspiration
The horrors of beyond linger in your mind, and they can serve as inspiration when trying to instill fear in others.
-Gift: From the frightful images you've witnessed at night, you have acquired a knack for scaring others. You gain a +2 bonus on intimidate checks and the DCs of fear effects you create increases by 1. At manifestation level 3rd, the bonus on Intimidate checks increases to +4 and the DC increases by 2 instead of 1.
-Stain: Your nightmares begin to linger with you more through the day, the images of the places you have witnessed becoming more vivid. You take a -2 penalty on saving throws against fear effects, and you lose any immunities to fear you might otherwise possess. You gain immunity to effects that would remove your fear. At manifestation level 3rd, the penalty changes to -4.
Finger of Expulsion
You teeter on the edge of oblivion, and you have learned how to push others in your stead.
-Prerequisites: Manifestation level 7th, Corruption level 2.
-Gift: Once per day, as a standard action, you can reach out and roughly trace the silhouette of your intended target. This target must be within 25ft + 5ft per manifestation level of you. Your target is then forced to make a Will save or be violently pushed from reality, subjecting them to the effects of your Corruption at Level 3.
-Stain: Whenever you attempt to use this ability, if your foe succeeds on their will save you must make a Will save yourself or your Corruption advances to Level 3.
-Special: Upon receiving this manifestation, you must take both the gift and the stain, even with the useful corruption or vile corruption variants.
Incite Visitation
What horrors you have witnessed, you have learned to draw into reality for a time.
-Prerequisite: Manifestation Level 3rd.
-Gift: Once per day, you can use summon nature's ally as a spell-like ability, but only of a form up to 1 spell-level below your manifestation level. Creatures called are statistically identical to those normally summoned but with the Mutant Template, but are generally unrecognizable, any physical resemblance being in mockery at best. Upon reaching manifestation level 6th, you can use this ability 2/day.
-Stain: Upon using Incite Visitation, you must make a Will save or the creatures called turn against you. If you try summoning multiple creatures, you must roll a save for each individual summoned.
-Special: Upon receiving this manifestation, you must take both the gift and the stain, even with the useful corruption or vile corruption variants.
Insightful Whispers
Even in your waking hours, a constant whisper hangs within your mind in an unfamiliar tongue. Occasionally, you can glean some form of insight from them.
-Gift: You gain a +4 bonus on Knowledge checks and sense Motive checks to see through disguises, notice when a creature is under enchantment, or act on a surprise round.
-Stain: You are distracted by the constant chattering within your mind. Roll twice on initiative checks and take the lower result. You also take a -2 penalty on concentration checks. At manifestation level 3rd, this penalty changes to -4.
Qlippothi Visitation
You have learned to draw through creatures native to the furthest reaches of the Great Beyond, where a hatred of sin has festered for since time immemorial.
-Prerequisites: Incite Visitation.
-Gift: When you use incite visitation, you may choose to summon a Qlippoth instead of creatures normally called. Qlippoth summoned in this way lack the mutant template, unlike most creatures summoned via Incite Visitation. To the following Summon Nature's Ally lists, add the qlippoth in parenthesis strictly for the purpose of using Incite Visitation; II (Cythnigot), IV (Thognorok), VI (Shoggti), VII (Nyogoth), VIII (Chernobue, Gongorian).
-Stain: Creatures summoned using Incite Visitation are more likely to turn on you, the closer your soul would be judged to the abyss. If you are Chaotic Evil, you take a -4 penalty to the save made to prevent creatures summoned by Incite Visitation from turning on you. This penalty decreases by 1 for each step you are away from Chaotic Evil (to a minimum of -0 at Lawful Good).
Raver's Eye
When you attempt to inflict the horrors from beyond upon another, you can channel a mote of that horrific realm.
-Prerequisite: Aching Dread, Manifestation Level 4th,
-Gift: Your Aching Dread becomes agonizing to all who witness its vision. Any creature that fails their Will save against Aching Dread takes 3d6 points of damage as its very form is warped and distorted.
-Stain: A eyeball forms upon the palm of your right hand, inflicting upon you a -2 penalty to Dexterity-based checks utilizing that hand and Charisma-based checks except for intimidate while the eyeball is visible. If you fail your Will save against Aching dread, you also take 3d6 points of damage.
Soul-Blasting Dread
You have learned to draw greater horrors from beyond and inflict them upon others.
-Prerequisites: Aching Dread, Manifestation Level 6th.
-Gift: When you attempt to use Aching Dread, you may choose for it to center not upon yourself, but effect creatures within a 20-ft. radius burst somewhere within 100ft. + 10ft. per manifestation level of you. Additionally, creatures risk becoming Panicked instead of Frightened. Attempting to use Aching Dread in this manner uses two uses instead of 1.
-Stain: When attempting to use Aching Dread in this manner, you must attempt a Will save even if you are not within its radius, and you must attempt it before anyone else. If you fail this Will save, you are the only one effected by it, regardless of the location of the effect.
-Special: Upon receiving this manifestation, you must take both the gift and the stain, even with the useful corruption or vile corruption variants.
Well of Madness
You have looked deep within your dreams of madness, and power has answered.
-Prerequisite: Manifestation level 2nd, ability to cast spells.
-Gift: You gain an extra spell slot in your daily allotment that you can use to cast any spell you know with the mind-affecting descriptor, or of the teleportation subschool.
-Stain: Whenever you would be effected by a mind-affecting effect, you are forced to attempt an additional Will save or become confused for the duration of the effect.
RESOURCES
Work in progress additional resources associated with this corruption.
Cerebrotic Creature (CR +1)
Cerebrotic creatures have delved deeply into forbidden tomes, and have become touched by the Outside.
-Quick Rules: Counts as aberration; darkvision 60ft.; +1 to AC and Reflex saves; -2 rolls based on Wisdom; -2 skill checks on Dexterity and Charisma (excluding Intimidate); +2 intimidate; Aching Dread (target within 10ft. must succeed on Will save or become frightened for 1/2 HD rounds and take 3d6 points of damage. Usable 1/2 /day) (DC 10 + 1/2 HD + Charisma modifier); Summon (see table; 100%);
-Rebuild Rules: Type changes to aberration; Senses darkvision 60ft.; AC Deflection bonus increases by 1; Skills -2 circumstance penalty on Dex and Cha based skills excluding Intimidate;Special Attacks Aching Dread (target within 10ft. must succeed on Will save or become frightened for 1/2 HD rounds and take 3d6 points of damage. Usable 1/2 /day), Summon (see table; 100%); Ability Scores -4 Wis.
Cerebrotic Creature HD
Qlippoth or Mutant
Spell Level
8 or Fewer
Cythnigot
2nd
9-10
Mutant Cyclops
5th
11-12
Shoggti
6th
13-14
Nyogoth
7th
15-16
Gongorian
8th
17 or more
Mutant Storm Giant
9th