Corruption Checks
The greatest danger to those battling forces of darkness in the Realms of Terror is never death—rather the seductive, clarion call of corruption. Indeed, most valiant actors would declare it a gift should one must die to die peacefully in a consecrated grave. It is all too easy for even the most noble, the most dashing, the most daring to become with the entropy of time the very beasts they once devoted their lives to destroying.
Corruption and Progression in The Domains of Dread
All characters begin play Clean—that is to say, at the lowest possible level of corruption no matter what atrocity they may have committed in their time spent in the Prime Material (or before play, in the case of natives). It is only after they have begun play that the Mists of Death show interest in their actions though whether these fickle, unknowable forces should ever act on this interest is never a guarantee.
When a character precipitates an action which would call a Corruption Check under the supervision of a Game Master, that Game Master rolls a 1d100
to compare against a table. Should they roll lower than the stated value, the character has failed their Corruption Check and ascends a level of corruption according to the following:
Clean
: None who ever fail their first Corruption Check may return to Clean.Unclean
: The character has1
minor change. Characters who redeem themselves remain forever Unclean.Corrupted
: The character has2
minor changes.Accursed
: The character has3
minor changes.Beast
: The character has3
minor changes and1
moderate change. Characters that reach Beast may never return to earlier levels of corruption even if redeemed. They become immune to the effects of Delirium suffered in unenclosed, dark areas or during nighttime.Creature
: The character has3
minor changes and2
moderate changes.Monster
: The character has3
minor changes,2
moderate changes and1
major change. They become a Dread Figure. If no other template is more applicable, they will have the Doomed One template applied.
Characters may fail more Corruption Checks after becoming a Dread Figure, but will have no further mechanical substantiation.
Consequences of Failure
Tainting oneself with evil beyond the Misty Border, unlike in so many Prime Material worlds, does not result in immediate comeuppance. Much to the contrary—the Mists seem to empower these individuals early on with minor changes that seem to be all benefit and no drawbacks. Of course this is little more than a convenient ruse, for as soon as the character ascends past Accursed their first moderate change and all changes thereafter their mutations will be of little use and serve only to create a wedge between society and their past lives. In typical fashion the Mists begin with a carrot, only to end with the stick.
Changes are determined by the supervising Game Master upon receipt of the failed Corruption Check and are tailored to the character. For that reason no publicly availed table of possible changes are provided. If already made clear by the player which Dread Figure template they intend the character to become at Monster, changes will be flavored accordingly.
Redemption
Atonement is never a simple nor easy task in the Realms of Terror. Most who proceed past Unclean will not save themselves from their descent without outside invention, with such interventions rare if not doomed to failure. For those who are at least Corrupted but not yet a Beast, acts of selflessness or reprieve may server to decrement their level of corruption. In these cases, the supervising Game Master will decrement their level of corruption and rescind any minor changes made to the character therein, save for their first change upon becoming Unclean.