[Contagion fan] Your Outbreaks

[wyrdhamster]

We have now few examples of various Contagions, now it times to prepare your own. Or modifying official ones.

As I have my Viking Era Werewolf game, with pack of Norse coming to Constantinople after Dragon Idigam that come from 'Greece' to their lands to discover how to kill it, I wanted them to uncover that it was Contagion that awoken and driven out Idigam from Byzantium.

Now, it's year 800 in chronicle, so it's 'just' after last of outbreaks from Plague of Justinian / Black Death. ( First was in 541, last sickens en masses was seen in 750 year. ) Also, Idigam did not awoken with two hundred previous years of plague, so why did it need suddenly now?

This are main solutions to using new Contagion in game:

1. Using canonical Plague of Justinian Contagion from Chapter 3 of Contagion Chronicle.

From my reading, it's about all death and (zombie) resurrection, over and over again, and weird spatial dimensional drifts. Not sounding as something to awoken Idigam - especially, as Plague is assumed too die out till year 800 then.

2. Doing my own new Contagion, as new threat the Sworn in place are not ready to face. Maybe something that Spirits ( or other Ephemera ) are spreading?

I was thinking about mixing it somehow with Iconoclasm movement in Empire - i.e. refusing the cult of icons and sacred statues - as it's very much touching Spirits and Essence generation - so logically it could awoken Idigam.

3. Modifying official materials - like maybe using Gyro of Kyoto.

I still did not read setting of Kyoto, but Gyro were announced as being related to Father Wolf, so it could work as awakening Idigam, probably. Yet, from spoilers till now, they do not seem much hard on Spirit side of problem.

What do you think? Do you have ideas for your own new strains of Contagion?

[wyrdhamster]

Drafting Iconclasm Outbreak with framework from Contagion Chronicles Storytelling Chapter. Now Ephemerals part…

Symptoms

Outbreak Core: It starts with your secondary traces of being. People start to miss you in conversation. You lose reflection, then your shadow. Then people omit you in life. And, finally, you simply cease to exist.

Contagion started with Ephemeral Beings ( spirits, ghosts, goetia, angels, etc. ), worshiped as sacred items and anchored to those images. Spirits and ghosts started to lose Manifestations, then their Essence – then their Corpus, being erased from reality. As the Contagion spread, even non-infected individuals lose they reflections – like the mirrors and water resists to show anyone living in them. ( Non-infected undead like vampires and sin-eaters are still shown. ) And finally whole glory of Empire is forgotten and lost.

Stages of Contagion are describing firstly effects on Ephemeral Beings, then after ‘/’ for the humans and physical monsters. Beasts of Dark Mother, Bound Sin-Eaters and Uratha werewolves are in worst situation because of this Plague – they response they were are both Ephemeral and physical beings, at once. On Stage 2 they lose Essence/Plasm/Satiety and their shadow. And on Stage 3 they lose Corpus ( Health in reality ) and lose contact with outside world.

Contagion Carrier (Persistent)

1. Contagion-Touched – Social penalty -1 to express oneself / Social penalty -1 as people subconsciously omit Touched in conversation.
2. Infected (1) – Blocking of 1 Manifestation per day. When loss of last one – next stage. / Loss of reflection in water, mirrors and similar.
3. Infected (2) – Loss of 1 Essence per day. When loss of last one – next stage. / Loss of shadow on any light source.
4. Infected (3) – Loss of 1 Corpus point per day. Uratha are checking entering Basu-Im each night because of Essence hunger. Begotten has 0 Satiety. When loss of Corpus box – final stage. / People do not notice you unless you make physical contact ( transmitting Contagion then ).
5. Disappearance – Final outcome, you cease to exist.

Consequences of Contagion
Ephemeral Beings:

• Loss of Manifestations – Slow disappearance of Twilight Form, Reaching, Fetter and Posses or Claim makes ephemerals not possible to affect humans – so now healing, blessings and overwatching of spiritual entities of humanity. More deadly accidents, weaker tools, and first and foremost – no influence of ghosts and spirits on the mortals. People are becoming more and more agnostic in their worships.
• Loss of Essence ( and a like ) – Weaker spirits ( and other ephemerals ) are easier prey for their enemies. Predatory spirits are more violent, weakened by Contagion spirits and ghosts looks for the way to jump over to the Flesh World and collect Essence directly. Spiritual landscapes madness. Hungry Werewolves without Essence and Beasts Satiety going down implies rampaging Uratha and Horrors in physical bodies on Flesh World. Mortals become more dull and detached from their emotions.
• Ephemerals cease to exist – Like in Loss of Essence, but much more direct. Spirit World and Primordial Dream is turn upside-down with gaps in ecology. Underworld is much more ‘hungry’ as ghosts-slaves of it are disappearing. All the realms are starting to ‘steal’ mortals in place of their native ephemerals, to fill the roosters.

EDIT: I revision Infected (3) rules to accommodate Uratha and Beasts in Contagion Carrier section.

[FallenEco]

I've gathered a lot of homebrew and 'fixes' over the years, not for use in most games (those kind of thing tend to shine best in a vacuum imo) but they work really well as infected.

For example, the ST Vault recently got a new product called Kinslayers. Generally speaking, I would not run this in a normal Beast game, unless it was an all Hero game. But as a infection, a place where those who are Devoured become these 'Heroes' and the true Heroes are slowly changing into this new breed as the Contagion spreads...
Well, that works well.

Basically any hack or variant can become a potential new form of the Infected, if not outright intruders like the Arisen in Edinburgh.

Edit: I have also considered sporting over 1st edition variations of splats as another option.

[Mad_Maudlin]

I have an idea for a Contagion of Progress, for a city that's perversely enamored of its glorious history and utterly incapable of dealing with its present problems (*coughcoughStLouiscough*). The Contagious start dreaming of the good old days, to the point they live parallel lives at night, and then just don't wake up....so some enterprising angel has started ripping holes in the timeline and bringing random stuff forward to compensate. The Ship of Theseus would be scandalized.

[wyrdhamster]

Made new revision of rules around Iconclasm Contagion and added Cure respons of Sworn in 700s-900s.

Stages of Contagion are describing firstly effects on Ephemeral Beings, then after ‘/’ for the humans and physical monsters. Beasts of Dark Mother, Bound Sin-Eaters and Uratha werewolves are in worst situation because of this Plague – they response they were are both Ephemeral and physical beings, at once. On Stage 2 they lose Essence/Plasm/Satiety and their shadow. And on Stage 3 they lose Corpus ( Health in reality ) and lose contact with outside world.


Contagion Carrier (Persistent)

1. Contagion-Touched – Social penalty -1 to express oneself / Social penalty -1 as people subconsciously omit Touched in conversation.
2. Infected (1) – Blocking of 1 Manifestation per day. When loss of last one – next stage. / Loss of reflection in water, mirrors and similar.
3. Infected (2) – Loss of 1 Essence per day. When loss of last one – next stage. / Loss of shadow on any light source.
4. Infected (3) – Loss of 1 Corpus point per day. When loss of last one – final stage. / People do not notice you unless you make physical contact ( transmitting Contagion then ).
5. Disappearance – Final outcome, you cease to exist.

Cure

The Contagion based on being erased from reality is very difficult to fight. Even those afflicted by it are in impediment in communicating about symptoms with those trying to save them from non-existance. However large body on lore and history from over thousand years of this war with outbreak made it possible.

The Sworn

Sworn see Iconoclasm Contagion as possible end of their living – or at least history. They strife to not forget about their comrades and their own secrets.

700-900s

In first years of Contagion, newly founded Sworn in Byzantine Empire did not even noticed it. It fell between the cracks, as the whole alliance was looking for the signs of next Plague of Justinian outbreak in that time. Unfortunately, disease has settled within Eastern Roman Empire. From then, it was mostly crisis management and hoping to cure the patients. However, each of Sworn groups tried, from time to time, some revolutionary way for stopping the disease. After few decades they observed that because the Contagion was sourced from Iconoclasm and destruction of the visage – the way to stop it was to created many visages of the patient and then to mark the worship of image on it. To say that those practiced seemed to look heretical, even to eyes of Iconludes, was to put it mildly. And then Sworn still looked for other ways stopping this outbreak.

Jeremiad
Connected most with the Easter Church itself, the Penitents are in the center of Iconclams. Lancea Sanctum is doubling down on separation of worship in Empire, leading to their members distance themselves from the center of infections. Seeing how this Contagion is striving from destruction of icons, Sanctified in Jeremiad are hoarding holy images and statues, persevering them, so the new sources of disease would not spread more. They also most ardently worship them, to undo existing infections.

Hunters in Darkness and Fire-Touched inside Church’s holy places are defending icons before destruction with their own claws. They know that once Contagion will set in area, they are first to get the worst of it. It also lead to unusual alliance – Hosts also do not want to be in area of this Plague. As both physical and ephemeral like Meninna and Izidakh – they know they are most venerable to the gruesome effects of it. Hosts separated from their species simply decomposes and die.

Begotten in Church are trying to preach – by word and Nightmares they send – that you must see and confront what you are afraid off. And by this, images helps us prepare to life we lead. Often, it ends with unofficial, private visages of mythological horrors that haunts particular painter or sculptor – but it sustain particular beast from Contagion if she became infected.

Athanatoi (Cryptocracy)
Athanatoi, as predecessors of Cryptocracy we know now, try to fight with problem systematically. It’s their secret support in in the elites of society that lead to support Iconludes in stopping the destruction of icons. Whenever they can, Immortals try to hijack commands that leads to more damages and possible spread of Contagion. It’s Athanatoi influence on the Emperor’s Court that maybe ended Iconclams madness.

Omphalos (Rosetta Society)
The Omphalos understand Contagion as massage from God ( or gods ) that we do not understand. What could be massage that punish for destruction of icons? Of course, it’s that we should hoard all knowledge and rebuild Great Library of Alexandria. It’s maybe not universal answer in Sworn’s members, but it surely have most support.

[ArcaneArts]

Fate, Reflection, Awareness, and Shadow are all ones I'm toying with.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and Hope. Can't have the Sin of Hope without also making the Contagion.

[Leliel]

In the CofD Dating Sim idea thread, I'm tempted to have it that one of the more common infected Infrastructure alterations has made it possible to build mecha suits used to fight especially large Contagious attackers on the city-states that survived the Wormwood Plague, to be as Japanese as possible. One of the climactic encounters, naturally, is with one of the Crucible Initiative's distinct Tancrede-class Crusader chassis. On foot.

More seriously, I'm thinking of a Contagion of Haze inspired by Persona 4, one that causes a gradual dissolution of reality into something shaped by the id. In humans, it reshapes them into a form ideal for living in the foggy inconstant world, which is to say completely id-driven animals.

[wyrdhamster]

Made first revision of my home made Contagion. Long way for me, but basis mechanics are in place, I think.

Symptoms

It starts with your secondary traces of being. People start to miss you in conversation. You lose reflection, then your shadow. Then people omit you in life. And, finally, you simply cease to exist.
Contagion started with Ephemeral Beings ( spirits, ghosts, goetia, angels, etc. ), worshiped as sacred items and anchored to those images. Spirits and ghosts started to lose Manifestations, then their Essence – and finally their Corpus, being erased from reality. And finally whole glory of Empire is forgotten and lost.

Stages of Contagion are describing firstly effects on Ephemeral Beings, then after ‘/’ for the humans and physical monsters.

Contagion Carrier (Persistent)

1. Contagion-Touched – Social penalty -1 to express oneself / Social penalty -1 as people subconsciously omit Touched in conversation.
2. Infected (1) – Blocking of 1 Manifestation per day. When loss of last one – next stage. / Loss of reflection in water, mirrors and similar.
3. Infected (2) – Loss of 1 Essence per day. When loss of last one – next stage. / Loss of shadow on any light source.
4. Infected (3) – Loss of 1 Corpus point per day. When loss of last one – final stage. / People do not notice you unless you make physical contact ( transmitting Contagion then ).
5. Disappearance – Final outcome, you cease to exist.

[Omegaphallic]

My idea for an outbreak would be a contagion infecting an important piece if historical infrastructure, which causes a splinter reality, which is a kind of eternal echo of a historical dark era. As the contagion worsens, this DE echo reality starts to bleed thru into the regular reality and vis versa, creating that tilt. As this echo reality feeds on the regular reality it's spawns new echoes realities of other dark eras, which which also bleed into regular reality and each other.

So maybe the first echo reality is the 7 wonders of the world era, which isn't a whole world, just the region covered by that DE. But as it's contagion worsens, it's spawns the Wild West DE echo reality, and that one Spawns the Sundered World DE echo reality, and so on.

And maybe as an effect of beings infected by this contagion, the infected slide randomly between echo realities and regular reality when they sleep.

[Iceblade44]

I have an idea of a Contagion as a basis for a hidden city of supernaturals all supporting and living together in a society, with all the citizens(including humans) being infected and the city leaders being Contagious. thats anyhow my brief idea that I'm planning on working with

essentially a Contagion that breaks down boundaries, both physical and social.

[wyrdhamster]

My solution to the second point of my alternative...

Byzantium – Contagion of Being

It’s started with cross. In 726 A.D. Emperor Leo III the Isaurian ordered to remove the painting of Christ from his Palace entering gate – and to place simple cross in it’s place. It was start of Iconoclasm movement in Byzantine Empire, wanting to abolish worship of icons and figures in Eastern Church. It was strongly opposed by the Iconludes, people wanting to support worship of icons. Both factions fervently fought inside of Empire for the next almost hundred and twenty years.

But it event also unleashed what mortals were not aware of. They could not be. The second Contagion ravaging the Empire made them unaware. Unneeded. Irrelevant. Erased from reality.

Symptoms

It starts with your secondary traces of being. People start to miss you in conversation. You lose reflection, then your shadow. Then people omit you in life. And, finally, you simply cease to exist.

Contagion started with Ephemeral Beings ( spirits, ghosts, goetia, angels, etc. ), worshiped as sacred items and anchored to those images. Spirits and ghosts started to lose Manifestations, then their Essence – and finally their Corpus, being erased from reality. And finally whole glory of Empire is forgotten and lost.

Stages of Contagion are describing firstly effects on Ephemeral Beings, then after ‘/’ for the humans and physical monsters. Beasts of Dark Mother, Bound Sin-Eaters and Uratha werewolves are in worst situation because of this Plague – they response as they were both Ephemeral and physical beings, at once. On Stage 2 they lose Essence/Plasm/Satiety and their shadow. And on Stage 3 they lose Corpus ( Health in reality ) and lose contact with outside world.


Contagion Carrier (Persistent)

1. Contagion-Touched – Social penalty -1 to express oneself / Social penalty -1 as people subconsciously omit Touched in conversation.
2. Infected (1) – Blocking of 1 Manifestation per day. When loss of last one – next stage. / Loss of reflection in water, mirrors and similar.
3. Infected (2) – Loss of 1 Essence per day. When loss of last one – next stage. / Loss of shadow on any light source.
4. Infected (3) – Loss of 1 Corpus point per day. When loss of last one – final stage. / People do not notice you unless you make physical contact ( transmitting Contagion then ).
5. Disappearance – Final outcome, you cease to exist.

Cure

The Contagion based on being erased from reality is very difficult to fight. Even those afflicted by it are in impediment in communicating about symptoms with those trying to save them from non-existence. However large body on lore and history from over thousand years of this war with outbreak made it possible.

The Sworn

Sworn see Iconoclasm Contagion as possible end of their living – or at least history. They strife to not forget about their comrades and their own secrets.

700-900s

In first years of Contagion, newly founded Sworn in Byzantine Empire did not even noticed it. It fell between the cracks, as the whole alliance was looking for the signs of next Plague of Justinian outbreak in that time. Unfortunately, disease has settled within Eastern Roman Empire. From then, it was mostly crisis management and hoping to cure the patients. However, each of Sworn groups tried, from time to time, some revolutionary way for stopping the disease. After few decades they observed that because the Contagion was sourced from Iconoclasm and destruction of the visage – the way to stop it was to created many visages of the patient and then to mark the worship of image on it. To say that those practiced seemed to look heretical, even to eyes of Iconludes, was to put it mildly. And then Sworn still looked for other ways stopping this outbreak.

Jeremiad
Connected most with the Easter Church itself, the Penitents are in the center of Iconclams. Lancea Sanctum is doubling down on separation of worship in Empire, leading to their members distance themselves from the center of infections. Seeing how this Contagion is striving from destruction of icons, Sanctified in Jeremiad are hoarding holy images and statues, persevering them, so the new sources of disease would not spread more. They also most ardently worship them, to undo existing infections.

Hunters in Darkness and Fire-Touched inside Church’s holy places are defending icons before destruction with their own claws. They know that once Contagion will set in area, they are first to get the worst of it. It also lead to unusual alliance – Hosts also do not want to be in area of this Plague. As both physical and ephemeral like Meninna and Izidakh – they know they are most venerable to the gruesome effects of it. Hosts separated from their species simply decomposes and die.

Begotten in Church are trying to preach – by word and Nightmares they send – that you must see and confront what you are afraid off. And by this, images helps us prepare to life we lead. Often, it ends with unofficial, private visages of mythological horrors that haunts particular painter or sculptor – but it sustain particular beast from Contagion if she became infected.

Athanatoi (Cryptocracy)
Athanatoi, as predecessors of Cryptocracy we know now, try to fight with problem systematically. It’s their secret support in in the elites of society that lead to support Iconludes in stopping the destruction of icons. Whenever they can, Immortals try to hijack commands that leads to more damages and possible spread of Contagion. It’s Athanatoi influence on the Emperor’s Court that maybe ended Iconclams madness.

Omphalos (Rosetta Society)
The Omphalos understand Contagion as massage from God ( or gods ) that we do not understand. What could be massage that punish for destruction of icons? Of course, it’s that we should hoard all knowledge and rebuild Great Library of Alexandria. It’s maybe not universal answer in Sworn’s members, but it surely have most support.

What is to Come ( 700s-900s)
Interesting conflict in Byzantium going over one century that hammered their Eastern Church doctrine, based on conflict between religious and ‘extreme’ secular forces in it. And it all started with paintings. Icons of holy figures, to be precise – like Christ, Mary, saints or angels.

• In 5^th century A.D. Saint Augustin points that in Eastern Roman Empire popular was icon worship. In 6^th century, it’s gone over bowing to holy pictures and sculptures. In 7^th century started to circle legends in Empire about Acheiropoietos – painting not created by human hand – and by this, created by God himself. There were stories about Icons bleeding blood, falling from the skies, curing sick and even resurrecting the dead!
• In 726 A.D. Emperor Leo III the Isaurian ordered to remove the painting of Christ from his Palace entering gate – and to place simple cross in it’s place. It was start of Iconoclasm movement in Byzantine Empire, wanting to abolish worship of icons and figures in Eastern Church. It was strongly opposed by the Iconludes, people wanting to support worship of icons. Both factions fervently fought inside of Empire.
• One of greatest Iconludes of that time was John of Damascus – he is said to so much enrage Emperor Leo III with his preaching and works that ruler command to sever one of his hands – and was locked for rest of his life in monastery of Saint Saba’s in Palastine. After this, thousands of Byzantine sacral art was destroyed by Iconoclasts, across Empire.
• Pope Gregory III denounced Leo on Synod of Rome of year 731 A.D. Emperor chased Patriarch of Constantinople that reasoned with Pope. Gregory III then putted curse on Byzantine Emperor.
• Son of Leon III – Constantine V – in year 754 he issued the edict that any representation of Christ is idolatry! He then gone step further and banned smoking candles and incense. It was not only based on rational thinking and fighting with Iconludes – but also about political show of power. In 8^th century Eastern Church was still officially dependent on Rome and Pope, even with less and less sway over Byzantine priests. Constantine need to show he can control his own Empire before Pope. Emperor’s soldiers were merciless to worshipers of icons – they blinded them or drowned them in bags. Monks that created icons were hunted and killed – at best. They are accounts of monks being mutilated, forced to break religious vows or marriage to whores. Monasteries were changed in to baths and barracks for Empires army. Iconoclasts burned icons. They destroyed mosaics on walls. They broke sculptures and iconostasis – special decorated walls for icons in Eastern churches. Monasteries were disbanded and valuables went to the treasury of Constantine. Iconludes were running before Empire oppression to Italy, Palestine and Cyprus.
• Council of Hieria was summoned by the Constantine V in 754 in the palace of Hieria opposite Constantinople. The council supported the emperor's iconoclast position in the Byzantine iconoclasm controversy, making it de facto state religion in Eastern Roman Empire. Opponents of the council described it as the Mock Synod of Constantinople or the Headless Council because no patriarchs or representatives of the five main patriarchs were present: Constantinople was vacant, Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria were controlled by Islamic rulers, while Rome was not asked to participate. Its rulings were anathematized at the Lateran Council of 769.
• After Constantine V death in 775 the Emperor become Leo IV that ruled only 5 years. In 780 Constantine’s first wife, Irena, become Empress-regent over his son. She brought back religious freedom and worship of icons was once again safe in Empire. She even forced the arrangements Council of Hieria from being overturned almost entirely by the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, which supported the veneration of icons. Iconclasts in Empire were branded heretics by it!
• Empire was once again more or less stable, until the year 813 A.D. when Leo V become Emperor of Byzantium. He started to blame icons worshipers as reason for anything wrong in Empire. He removed Christ from his Palace gates and on once again called Council of Hieria in 815 he restituted rulings from year 754, in the same place.
• In year 821 Thomas the Slav lead the revolt against banning on icons worship and lessening the influence of land owners in Empire. Thomas was Byzantine commander, from Slavic descendants, that convinced Slavs, Arabs, Iberians and Persians, poor and excluded in Empire – all to join his vision of building better, more just world. He even was crowned Emperor by patriarch of Antioch and ruled in 821-823 A.D. big part of Asia Minor! He sieged Constantinople and impaled on a stake in 823. His supporters and their families were brutally repressed after it. Iconoclasts triumphed once again.
• In 843, Empress Theodora, after death of her husband Theophilos, ended Iconoclast by calling next synod on that she strengthen agreements of Second Council of Nicaea from 787. She made it after seeing monks Theodore and Teophanes from Jerusalem that had Iconclasts verses burned on their foreheads by Theophilos before. She said her husband he expressed remorse for his previous doings – and so she ended repressions of icons worship in Empire.