The Corruption of Yume-Jigoku is an insidious force, the influence of the Realm of Dreams in and unholy marriage with the Realm of Evil. It is not Shadowlands Taint - it is a wholly new force that twists everything it touches with nightmare logic, forcing aside any conception of physical possibility and sanity. It drives people insane and to violence. Given time to fester, it twists them into monstrosities, manifestations of their own worst nightmares. It is contagious, passing from one to another like mass hysteria. If it infects enough people in an area, it weakens the barrier between Ningen-do and Yume-Jigoku, changing the landscape around them to match the warped dream realm their minds now inhabit. There have even been rumors that once the corruption spreads to the landscape, it can raise the dead as twisted abominations.
Observers have noticed that there seems to be some unholy will to it, an idea that the appearance of The Harbinger five years ago verified. It seems to pick victims with an eye to those who can spread it best, or will do the most damage through their corruption and madness. Many important people in the nascent Empire have fallen to it with that. Prosperous farming villages have twisted entirely, cutting off supplies and putting greater physical and mental stress on the Empire.
Scholars of the Empire have begun to pick up on how the Corruption manifests and spreads. It seeks out those under the thrall of powerful negative emotions - extreme stress, deep anxiety, paranoia, deep depression. It seeps into their nightmares and seeks out the cracks in people's minds, filling them with horror and hallucinations. They often behave in ways that make other minds more vulnerable to the spread of the corruption - violence, secretiveness, strange behavior that raises the hackles of others.
On the positive side, simple contact with someone under the influence of Yume-Jigoku will not spread its corruption, though exposure to their blood or other bodily fluids can do it. Being in a Yume-Jigoku-infected landscape can infect one with the Corruption, requiring rolls to resist acquiring it oneself. It's hard to say if it is merely being in the locale, or if the mind-bending landscape of a corrupted area warps one enough to be vulnerable to it.
Like Shadowlands Taint, the Corruption is represented through Ranks and Points.
Gaining the Corruption
Characters under heavy negative emotional stress, whether that be the aftermath of a major loss in battle, the death of a loved one, dealing with the consequences of a bout of Lord Moon's Curse, as well as those exposed to a Corrupted landscape, will find themselves vulnerable to the Corruption. When they go to sleep under these circumstances, they must roll their Willpower vs. a TN determined by the severity of the exposure.
For both Gaining and Growth of the Corruption, certain Disadvantages will increase the difficulty of rolls. Bitter Betrothal, Blackmailed, Black Sheep, Cast Out, Consumed, Cursed by the Realm: Jigoku & Yume-Do, Dark Fate, Dark Secret, Dishonored, Doubt, Driven, Failure of Bushido, Forced Retirement, Frail Mind, Jealousy, Lost Love, and Phobia all increase the difficulty of Exposure and Growth rolls by +5.
Corruption Exposure Rolls
Source of Exposure and TNs
- High stress event (death of a loved one, killing an innocent person, paranoia, etc.): 10
- In a Corrupted area for 1 full day: 10
- Exposed to Corrupted blood or bodily fluids: 10
- Using dreamstone: 10
- Viewing Corrupted artwork or hearing a Corrupted divination: 10
- Using a Minor Corruption Power: 15
- Injured by a Corrupted creature: 15
- Bearing a Dream Oni mark: 15
- Submerged in Tainted liquid (water or otherwise): 15
- Using a Greater Corruption Power: 20
- Eating/drinking Corrupted food or water: 20
- Entering Yume-Jigoku itself: 30
Once the Corruption has taken hold, it will try to worm its way deeper into its host's mind and soul, eating away at their thoughts and sanity, turning them inward until they start to spiral. A character who is Corrupted must make periodic Willpower rolls to see if the Taint spreads. At Rank 3, these become Earth rolls to reflect the changes to their body, as well.
Corruption Growth Rolls and Frequency
- Corruption 0.1-0.9: Once/two months, Willpower TN 5
Corruption 1.0-1.9: Once/month, Willpower TN 10
Corruption 2.0-2.9: Once/two weeks, Willpower TN 15
Corruption 3.0-3.9: Once/week, Earth TN 20
Corruption 4.0-5.0: Once/day, Earth TN 25
Resisting the Corruption
The chief protection against the Corruption is the sacred substance known as jade. Formed from the tears of Lady Sun at the dawn of creation, jade possesses intrinsic powers of purity that resist the influence of Yume-Jigoku. A character who carries a piece of jade on his person gains a +10 bonus to all rolls to resist the Corruption, both infection and growth. Likewise, touching jade to a potentially Corrupted wound within a minute of the injury will award a +10 bonus to a roll made to resist being Tainted.
Over time as jade absorbs more and more of the Taint, its protective qualities fade. It turns soft and brittle, discolors, and then its physical form twists into a strange material becoming known as dreamstone, which has its own properties. Jade is considered standard equipment when heading into an Corrupted area or dealing with potential Corruption incidents. Many people have also begun wearing it as proof against madness, and the stone has a growing reputation for being soothing to the mind and soul.
Each finger of jade protects one from up to 7 Exposure or Growth rolls, after which it becomes dreamstone.
Dreamstone
Dreamstone is jade corrupted by exposure to the influence of Yume-Jigoku. Using it may expose one to the Corruption of Yume-Jigoku, but it also has properties that make it appealing to those who make use of dreams for Divination or Artisan pursuits. A Player Character may meditate on a dreamstone for 1 hour to experience a dream. They then must make an Exposure roll at TN 10. If they succeed, they receive one free raise on any Divination or Artisan skill roll (the Player must specify which before they roll) for the next day. If they fail, they gain one point of Corruption. They still gain the free raise on their rolls, but anyone exposed to the divination message or the art produced by an enhanced roll after a failed Exposure roll has to roll for exposure themselves at TN 10.
Effects of the Corruption
Yume-Jigoku has many of the same motivations of its parent realm - to spread violence, hate, terror, pain, and destruction. It wishes to twist and mutates everything into its own image, to pervert every urge and desire into the worst imaginable outcome, to destroy life and empower death. That said, its exposure to Yume-Do has create a twisted love in it for humanity, and a desire to see it play out its full potential. The potential it has in mind, though, is to push it to the extremes of both evil and power present in human hearts. It wants to twist people, but the peoples' own minds guide the twisting unconsciously to become a warped combination of their own greatest nightmares and greatest fantasies.
In short, it wants to give humanity the ability to twist itself into the cosmic nightmare that Yume-Jigoku knows it can be.
Its corruptive effects have changed with its combination of realms to better achieve that end.
- Rank 0.1-0.9: A character who has less than one full Rank of Corruption is not actually considered to be Corrupted. Such minor levels of infection show no symptoms, and cannot be detected by any known means – even spells like Jade Strike that affect Corrupted and Tainted individuals will not harm a person at this minor level of infection. That said, the victim does begin to experience nightmares.
- Rank 1.0-1.9: At this level, visible symptoms are still minimal – the character will experience increasing nightmares, gaining Cursed by the Realm: Yume-Do for no XP. They also begin to become paranoid and suspicious of those around them. The worst parts of their personality become heightened and the best muted. Jade will now burn the character’s skin, and Taint and Corruption-targeting spells such as Jade Strike and Ward of Purity will now affect them.
- Rank 2.0-2.9: Once a character’s Corruption Rank reaches Rank 2 or higher, they are considered to be actively manifesting the Corruption of Yume-Do. Their mental symptoms increase considerably, and they gain the Brash disadvantage for no XP as their paranoia and negative emotions drive them to snap at any perceived insult. They gain one Shadowlands Power of the GM’s choice (typically Minor, but can be Major if the GM prefers).
- Rank 3.0-3.9: When a character’s Taint Rank reaches Rank 3 or higher, the Taint begins to consume and transform his identity and nature. They suffer a -1k0 to all Social skill rolls as their madness becomes increasingly obvious. While no physical changes have come over them yet, there's something unsettling in their eyes. Voices whisper to them in their own mental voice and those of ancestors and loved ones, and they begin to hallucinate during the day as if in the middle of a waking dream. Multiple people in this condition in one area will begin to alter the local area to become Corrupted.
- Rank 4.0-4.9: At this point, the character is an active focus of infection, capable of spreading the Taint to others through bodily fluids or injury, and they feel driven to infect others as much as they can. Physical changes begin to come over them as their body begins to reflect their own worst nightmares and greatest power fantasies. A person jealous of the looks of others may become unsettlingly flawless in their features, toeing the uncanny valley. Someone afraid of the ocean may find their skin becoming clammy, scales forming on their joints, or gills forming. The nature of the change should be discussed between the player and the GM and tailored to the character. The Corruption is difficult to hide at this point, and the character gains Disturbing Countenance for no XP.
- Rank 5.0: The character is lost to Yume-Jigoku and comes under GM control. Their physical transformation completes, twisting them into a monster out of a nightmare. The character has functionally transformed into an Oni of Yume-Jigoku, including the ability to be summoned and bound in a similar way. They may move between Yume-do, Yume-Jigoku, and Ningen-do in areas where the barrier between Ningen-do and Yume-do or Yume-Jigoku is thin.
The Corruption doesn't only do harm - after all, Yume-Jigoku's twisted love for humanity drives it to help them, as well. Characters in the early stages of infection can draw on the Corruption for extraordinary feats of perception and mental acuity. In later stages, these benefits can extend to the physical, granting increases in physical strength, agility, and endurance. A Corrupted character may call on Yume-Jigoku’s power at any time. They will not necessarily realize what they are doing, or where this unexpected strength is coming from – they simply reach for this new power instinctively. Wise samurai are cautious of such gifts, but even the noblest warrior may succumb to temptation in moments of desperation.
A character may “embrace the Corruption” on any die-roll that uses Intelligence or Perception up to Rank 3.0-3.9, and any Physical Trait from 4.0-5.0. Any time he does this, he immediately gains 1 point of Taint, but in return, he gains a +1k1 bonus to the roll. A character may, if he wishes, spend a Void point on the same roll (if otherwise legal).
Corruptive Powers and Mutations
As mentioned, those in late stages of infection go through strange and disturbing physical changes and gain new abilities inspired by those. These are bepoke, however, so please discuss with the GM what would be appropriate for your character.