Due to the way Corruption mechanics are tracked on the Character Sheet, it is important to note that "Insanity" is now referred to as Moral Corruption.
Moral Corruption causes the deterioration of the mind- the capacity for reason and critical thinking, the ability to recognize fantasy from reality, the mental fortitude that resists exterior manipulation, the balance between id and ego (personality), even a PC's reputation can suffer from its deleterious effects. Gaining too much Moral Corruption results in a PC developing Disorders (mental Malignancies).
When a PC gains Moral Corruption the Player may choose to which Characteristic(s) it is assigned from those affected by Moral Corruption- Intelligence, Perception, Willpower, Fellowship, and Influence.
Obviously then, Physical Corruption causes the deterioration of the body- the PC's physical ability and health begin to degenerate. Gaining too much Physical Corruption results in the PC developing Malignancies.
When a PC gains Physical Corruption the Player may choose to which Characteristic(s) it is assigned from those affected by Physical Corruption- Close Combat, Ranged Combat, Strength, Toughness, and Agility.
A PC that develops too many Disorders and/or Malignancies risks Mutation.
GAINING CORRUPTION
A PC gains Corruption when he/she succumbs to Fear, sustains Injuries caused by Warp Weapons, is exposed to Psychic Phenomena/Perils of the Warp or when he/she Pushes a Focus Power Test, when manifesting or affected by the effects Psychic Powers, and/or when acting/behaving* in a manner that is contrary to the teachings of the Cult Imperialis and/or Lex Imperialis.
Fear
Fear is the instant awakening of primal self-preservation instincts within the PC. Particularly frightening situations (such as witnessing a gruesome murder scene) have a Fear Rating from 0 to 4- the PC must make a Willpower Test with a modifier based on the Fear Rating, with failure resulting in Corruption gain:
- Fear 0: +/-0 WP Tests, failure results in +1 Moral Corruption
- Fear 1: -10 WP Tests, failure results in +2 Moral Corruption
- Fear 2: -20 WP Tests, failure results in +3 Moral Corruption
- Fear 3: -30 WP Tests, failure results in +4 Moral Corruption
- Fear 4: -40 WP Tests, failure results in +5 Moral Corruption
Creatures possessing the Daemonic, Stuff of Nightmares, and/or Warp Instability Traits also cause Fear as above). However, if the PC fails his/her Fear (Willpower) Test versus these creatures (and others the GM deems appropriate), the Player may choose to assign this Corruption gain as Moral and/or Physical.
Creatures with these Traits also possess an Aura of Daemonic Presence- all Willpower Tests (made by PCs) within the creature's WP in meters suffer an additional -10 penalty.
Perils of the Warp
The power of the Warp is corrupting, and Psychic Powers used with "good" intentions are no exception- on a successful Focus Power Test that is not Pushed, or when affected by a Psychic Power of any power level, the PC gains +1 Corruption if the result of the Focus Power Test die ends with 9 (ex: successful Focus Power Test result 09, 19, 29, and so on). Note the Psyker gains only +1 Corruption if the Psychic Power has a Range of Self.
The Inquisition is well known for "burning out" Psykers.
To represent the dangers of drawing to heavily upon the energies of the Aethyreal Realm, when a Psyker Pushes a Focus Power Test and fails the Warp energies momentarily engulf him/her with corposant and he/she gains a number of Corruption equal to his/her DoF on the Focus Power Test, plus the level of Push (+1, +2, or +3 for Human Psykers), minus his/her WPB, to a minimum of +1 Corruption- this is in addition to any Corruption gain that may result from exposure to Psychic Phenomena/Perils of the Warp.
If a Pushed Focus Power Test is successful (and does not trigger Psychic Phenomena or Perils of the Warp) the Psyker gains only +1 Corruption if the result of the Focus Power Test die ends with 9 (as above).
When any PC is exposed to Psychic Phenomena he/she suffers a number of Corruption equal to the result rolled on the Psychic Phenomenon Table (+1 to +10) minus his/her WPB, to a minimum of +1 Corruption. Additionally, when any PC is exposed to Perils of the Warp he/she suffers a number of Corruption equal to 10 (the result of the Psychic Phenomenon table roll) plus the result rolled on the Perils of the Warp Table (an additional +1 to +10), minus his/her WPB. Should the GM need to randomly determine the Corruption gain from a "plot device" Warp rift (such as arriving on scene with a Warp rift already in progress) he/she may roll d10+10.
Ignore any Corruption gains that would be caused by Fear as a result of exposure to Psychic Phenomena and/or Perils of the Warp.
Players may choose to assign any of these Corruption gains as Moral and/or Physical.
Warp Weapons
Warp weapons are particularly corrupting- when a PC sustains an Injury caused by a creature possessing the Warp Weapons Trait, or when sustaining an Injury caused by a weapon with the [W] Damage Type, the PC gains a number of Physical Corruption equal to the Injury's Category (+1 to +5) in addition to other effects of the Injury.
Note the Warp Weapons Trait and weapons with the [W] Damage Type ignore normal (non-warded) Armour.
The God-Emperor's Wrath (Optional)
There will be moments when an Acolyte comes face-to-face with a difficult decision or will make a terrible choice- a PC that knowingly and willingly performs an act/action or makes a decision that results in an act/action that goes against the teachings of the Cult Imperialis and/or the Lex Imperialis may gain +1 to +5 Corruption.
The God-Emperor's Wrath is intended as a catch-all, to be used in instances where the GM believes there is merit for Corruption gain but there otherwise are no rules or guidelines- a PC may or may not gain +1 Corruption for ordering the death of several innocent incidental witnesses (regardless the axiom "Innocence Proves Nothing"), while a +5 Corruption gain should be limited to particularly vile, callous, and heinous actions and/or decisions.
Whether this Corruption gain is Moral and/or Physical is left to the GM's discretion.
TRACKING CORRUPTION AND ITS EFFECTS
Corruption results in Permanent Characteristic Damage, or [PCD].
Each Characteristic will have a series of three (3) Corruption Track boxes- when a PC suffers Moral and/or Physical Corruption, the Player chooses to which Characteristic(s) they are assigned (ex: a PC suffers +3 Moral Corruption, and the Player decides to assign +1 each to Intelligence, Perception, and Fellowship).Once the tracking boxes for a Characteristic are filled, that Characteristic suffers [PCD1] (the Characteristic's Potential is permanently reduced -1), the boxes for that Characteristic are then cleared, and the process continues.
It is important to remember a PC suffering Temporary Characteristic Damage [TCD] to a Characteristic that has its Potential reduced as a result of Corruption (or other similar rules mechanic) must also reduce that Characteristic's current [TCD] -1 (this essentially means the PC need spend 1 less XP on Recovery, a pyrrhic benefit at best).
There are no "dump" Characteristics- each time a Characteristic's Potential is reduced as a result of Corruption the PC must make a Challenging (+/-0) Check (note the alternate terminology; this is not considered a Test) versus that Characteristic. If the Check is failed versus Moral Corruption the PC develops a Disorder (roll d10 on the Disorders Table), and if the Check is failed versus Physical Corruption the PC develops a Malignancy (roll d10 on the Malignancy Table).
Each time a PC must roll on the Disorders and/or Malignancy Tables there is a chance (d10 result of 10) the PC instead develops a Mutation.
NOTE- As of the time of this post I am still organizing the Tables for Disorders, Malignancies, and Mutations. /NOTE
Disorders
- p
- p
- p
- p
- p
- p
- p
- p
- Mutation
Malignancies
- p
- p
- p
- p
- p
- p
- p
- p
- p
- Mutation
Mutations
- p
- p
- p
- p
- p
- p
- p
- p
- p
THE INQUISITOR'S PHILOSOPHY (Optional)
As it concerns Disorders, Malignancies, and Mutation, an Inquisitor's personal philosophy may or may not allow for some leniency. A Puritan will count among his/her retinue pious clergy of the Cult Imperialis and will be very suspicious of Acolytes that sneak about as if they have something to hide, while an Inquisitor with radical proclivities might count among his retinue amoral cutthroats and may turn a blind eye toward an Acolyte's inexplicable fit of tremors.
An Inquisitor's Philosophy will determine the limit of how much or how little (if any at all) Corruption to which a PC is exposed before "retirement" becomes mandatory:
Inquisitor Philosophy
- +3 (Hard-line Puritan)
- +2
- +1
- 0
- -1
- -2
- -3 (Radical, borderline heretic)
It is important to remember what one Inquisitor tolerates is another's bread and butter, so to speak, though there is nothing saying an Inquisitor's Philosophy must remain fixed...
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Excellent article. There are some people who are literally like X-Men (mutants). They have exotic biological structure, strengths, and capabilities which make them superior to any normal human being.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Arnold Brame