Alone in the Labyrinth: More Curses

I recently shared a revision to the curse of the spirit-touched, tying curses in PARIAH to PC inventory, in a nod to Cairn & Eco-Mofos. Continuing my ambition to publish revisions to the game as a series of modular zinis, I compiled the following curse "templates" (they can be applied as a lateral progression/impending doom track to any character) into the four-side format and published on itch:

Hunger (descent into ghoul-dom)
Lycanthropy
Possessed
Spirit-touched (as previous post)
Thirst (proto-vampirism)
Unnamed (becoming a Nameless One)

For lovers of the traditional blog format with no time for PDFs, please find the new curse templates lovingly copy-and-pasted below for FREE:

Curses

In PARIAH, powerful curses are represented by curse templates. Inspired by Emmy Allen’s sideways advancement trackers (particularly wendigo sickness and the wounded daughter) templates provide the opportunity to inflict a doom on a pariah over an extended period rather than removing them from the game immediately—providing the opportunity to remove the curse, or at least having some fun in the attempt.

Each template enumerates a series of afflictions (which can be beneficial, baleful or both) in a table: conditions particular to each curse trigger a roll on this table. These afflictions may make it harder to resist triggers in the future, thus causing a kind of curse-death spiral: once all entries on the table are acquired, the pariah becomes an NPC/monster.

PARIAH, Vol 1, page 53

Like other burdens and conditions in the revised game afflictions take up inventory slots. A pariah unable to carry anything is overwhelmed by their burdens and becomes an NPC.

The Hunger

(refer to original post https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2020/04/ghouls.html)

A terrible curse that causes the sufferer to crave human flesh and ultimately transform into a ghoul. It’s caused by the following:

reduced to 0 HP by a ghoul
eating human flesh

Hungry pariahs must save vs. death upon seeing dead human flesh:

failing the save means they are unable to resist eating it, unless they are willing to receive 1d4 HP damage.
Eating the flesh triggers a new affliction (below)

Canines extend, jaw strengthens: bite attack (1d4)
Skin begins to putrefy, emits foul stench of rot.
60’ low-light vision. Eyes turn a sickly yellow colour.
Nails extend into claws: attack as medium weapon.
All body hair falls out.
Cannot restore HP without eating human flesh. Gums appear to be permanently bleeding.
Claw attack now inflicts paralysing agony (as ghoul). Lies dormant if claws have not yet manifested.
Eating human flesh restores 1d4 HP or heals a wound.
Unable to cross a protective circle (see AHPZ20-Rituals).
Sunlight deals 1d4 damage per turn if flesh exposed, can only see up to 60’ in daylight.

Lycanthropy

(refer to original post https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2021/02/2-curse-templates-doom-of-sleep-flower.html)

A pariah surviving a near death attack from a werewolf (reduced to 0 HP) contracts lycanthropy. Each full moon they lose consciousness and transform into a dire wolf under the GM’s control, this is the first affliction, form of the moonlight hunter: fill an inventory slot with this affliction.

Whenever the pariah makes a kill in wolf form, a new affliction is obtained. If an existing affliction is rolled it evolves without taking up an additional slot.

1 Form of the Moonlight Hunter

Starting affliction: become dire wolf at full moon as above
2nd: save vs. Moon to retain consciousness as a wolf
3rd: abandons the party to finds others of their kind

2 Wolfspeak and Wolfthink

1st: lose some wisdom, gain some wits
2nd: +2 reaction with all canids excluding domestic dogs
3rd: Believing themselves to be wolf first, human second they abandon the pariahs and join the nearest wolf pack

3 Keen Ears

1st: Plagued by high-pitched tones, aversion to droning
2nd: Increase listening skill by one die size
3rd: Ears become pronounced and pointed, all the better to hear the call of the wild (they flee, becoming an NPC)

4 Eyes of the Wolf

1st: Pariah loses the ability to see in colour
2nd: By moonlight a pariah can see as well as daylight.
3rd: the world swims in spirits and magic... the pariah flees into the wilderness as an NPC.

5 Tireless Tracker

1st: 1st: can recognise friends and comrades by scent alone
2nd: advantage on tracking rolls, identify creatures by scent
3rd: pariah loses themselves in a landscape of smells

6 Power of the Wolf

1st: smells like an animal, acts animalistically: occasional involuntary growls
2nd: gains the wolf’s pack tactics
Becomes a powerful werewolf under GM control

Possession

A malevolent spirit of a randomly determined realm (Dawn, Dusk, Sun, Moon, Death or The Beyond) is attempting to take control of the pariah. Roll an initial affliction, record it in one of the pariah’s inventory slots.

The affliction manifests as a paranormal effect when the pariah undergoes stress (e.g. receiving HP damage or failing a save). The effects continue until the pariah is removed from the source of the stress. Experiencing additional stress while an effect is manifest results in a new affliction: roll on the table below, reroll repeats.

Aura: pulse rate lifts and hair stands on end. Roll all reactions with disapproval, all within 10’ make all rolls with disapproval, too.
Conjuration: a malevolent spirit is conjured, attacking the pariah’s enemies until the pariah is calmed.
Invocation: each round a random spell effect is invoked, befitting the entity’s realm and afflicting random NPCs.
Levitate: pariah begins to levitate at 1’/round up to a maximum of 10’.
Ogre: pariah spends 1 round transforming into an 8’ tall, 4d10 (22HP) horned humanoid. Save vs. [spirit] to resist the urge to eat enemies or suffer a new affliction.
Noise: shrill whine resonates from the pariah, underlaid by a wall of white noise. No communication possible in 10’ radius.
Paralysis: unable to move without incurring 1 HP damage
Poltergeist: small objects within 10’ of the pariah are thrown with violent force, causes 1Hp damage/round unless they Save vs. [spirit]
Voice: unintelligible alien vocalisations emanate from the pariah, who is unable to otherwise verbally communicate
Wounds: visible wounds appear on the pariah’s body, causing 1HP damage. A further affliction is incurred unless they save vs. [spirit]

The Thirst

The thirst is contracted after a Blood-Drinkers (or its spawn) feeds on a human: if they are survive reduction to 0 HP, roll for an affliction. An affliction takes up one inventory slot.

Furthermore, pariahs suffering the thirst must save vs. death upon seeing fresh human blood. Failure leads to the pariah rushing to lap up the blood. They can take on1d4 damage to resist this urge.

Human blood can be drunk in lieu of rations and restores 1d4 HP. Additionally, it bestows afflictions of the thirst:

Canines extend, jaw grows stronger: inflict an additional bite attack in melee (as light weapon)
Skin gains a chalky pallor
30’ low-light vision
automatically drain 1 HD of blood on the round following a successful bite attack (1) the thirsty pariah may grapple their opponent each round. Without the bite attack, this power is dormant until the extended canines affliction manifests contracted.
Health fails, but becomes quicker and stronger. Gain the FLAW sickly and the QUALITIES nimble and athletic.
Float 1”. Movements are either weird and jerky or supernaturally graceful. Double Movement per round.
Incapable of receiving sustenance except from blood—an animal’s suffices but only human blood has healing properties (and bestows afflictions).
Unable to cross a protective circle (see AHPZ20-Rituals).
Sunlight deals 1d4 damage per turn, 30’ vision in daylight.
a blood-drinker—the pariah’s shadow aspect—rises from the their body as they sleep to pursue human prey.

Unnamed

Losing one’s true name means losing one’s soul: whether taken or given away, the effects of becoming Unnamed or a Nameless One are always the same. If the pariah is already suffering the effects of a curse they are now powerless against it, and manifest any remaining afflictions.

In many cases, the unnamed is not suffering from other curses and so they remain under player control. However they suffer the following restrictions:

reaction rolls with other humans are made with disapproval: roll 3d6 and discard the highest number
they lose all skills
any traits which could be described as ‘mental’ or ‘spiritual’ are permanently lost
spell-spirits bonded to them are released: no spell-spirit can be bound to them until they receive a new name (see below)
they receive no saving throw against mind control or charm type magic

The final point is the reason why deviant sorcerers have Nameless Ones in their retinue. These charms are weak, however, and once broken the Nameless One is free from thralldom. However, these NPCs have no recollection of a life prior to their enslavement and continue to be vulnerable.

The Ritual of the True Name is performed when a child is born to the People of the Wilderness. When performed for a Nameless One it provides them a new true name—but it does not restore their identity.

Though they share memories with the one whose name is lost, they do not consider themselves to be the same person. For this reason, few wise-ones perform the ritual for adults, and the Unnamed are cast out into the wilderness as pariahs.

There is a tale of a Nameless One and their heroic comrades travelling to the Dawn Realm and regaining their true name. Such a request would be granted by the Dawn Queen herself, putting them in extraordinary debt...

Revised Pariah Zini progression

This is only the second complete "zini" I've published since beginning the project, but I have a stack that are just on the cusp of completion. Hopefully these will soon be making their own way in the wider world: the intention is to release at least two a month, and at least one of those zinis will be either an adventure site or "gameable setting info" such as individual hexes and generators for the other realms.

In the meantime, if you want this post in PDF zini format, here's the itch link again:

https://atelier-hwei.itch.io/curses-ahpz27

Thanks for reading,

- Sofinho