Corruption is an optional rule to model evil supernatural influence. In essence, corruption (via evil tomes, artifacts, especially using such artifacts) often results in ever-growing negative traits such as Callous or Sadism. Every 10 points of corruption equals -1 character points.
Common Sources of Corruption[]
| Source | Description | Corruption |
|---|---|---|
| Bad Places | Walking through--or even worse, camping in--unhallowed ground. | |
| Blood Money | Profiting from misery is one sure way of turning into a Bad Guy. | |
| Corrupt Wounds | Devil chills or demon fever, being damaged by unholy sources can cause a supernatural infection. | |
| Derangement | Extra optional rule since if you're already using Derangement, your PCs have a lot on their plate already. | every -1 adds +1 to Corruption |
| Learning Hidden Lore | A sort of memetic infection from reading through skin-bound books or the manuscripts of maltheisti apostles. A minor price to pay for knowledge of the enemy. | |
| Using Cursed Artifacts | Generally a bad idea, and usually the biggest turning point in a Bad Guy's career for Corruption points. | |
| Vile Encounters | Eating human flesh or the meat of a sapient creature |
It is said that Corruption can be healed through the opposite of what caused it. Hallowed ground, appeals to brighter powers, and good deeds help. In fact, good deeds may be the number one source of fighting corruption. If you cannot find an expert on thaumatology or demons, perhaps a philosophy major can refocus your PC's moral compass.
Mentions[]
GURPS Horror, p.146:
- "If bought at character creation, every 10 points of Corruption is a disadvantage worth -1 character point"
147:
- one-time access to higher levels is available at a Corruption cost equal to 1/5 of the character-point cost that the user would have to pay for the additional levels, rounded up
Corruption is based on the Point Debt model of Meditative Magic from Fantasy 162, in the same way that Assisting Spirits and Spiritual Distortion from Thaumatology 90-94 were adapted from Black Magic and Black Penalty from Magic 156