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(Note: This is a revamp of a post I saw in the archives, I feel that I've made it a bit less overpowered and far more understandable. Also I apologize for making this so long, however it needs much detail and in-depth description of things so certain... misconceptions do not occur.) Pathomancy What is Pathomancy? Pathomancy is, in short, is a deity-based magic that gives its users the magical ability to spread disease and pestilence. It shares similarities with other branches of magic, such as Necromancy and Conjuration, but it has some striking differences and those will be stated later on. A trained and skilled Pathomancer would be able to bring opponents to their knees in a coughing or vomiting fit, making them weak and able to be overtaken; an expert Pathomancer's opponent would end up dead on the sidewalk, in a pool of his own retch. Origins: Pathomancy has existed for as long as organized religion has existed. Pathomancers are nothing more than fanatical priests that were given their boon by the god they refer to as The Rot. If someone were to join the religion and follow it whole-heartedly, they would know of the Pathomancers existence. However, the religion has been slowly fading in recent years; as other religions have taken its place with far less gruesome and sickening practices. Many who have seen a Pathomancer have not even noticed it, for it shows signs of either Necromancy or Conjuration, both of which are different from it, though they appear similar in form. The Rot: The Rot is a god worshipped by Pathomancers and followers of the religion, the religion's name has long-since been forgotten, and so now it is referred to as "The grotesque church of the belief in The Rot" (the name was probably another reason it lost favor in more recent years). Followers of The Rot have no true name for their god, only that they call him The Rot, and it is indeed a fitting name. Theirs is a god whose sole purpose is to spread the beauty of disease and filth to this seemingly full and vast world. The Rot views every single bacterium and every single virus as a gift to humanity, The Rot's own way of leaving a gift to mankind. The Rot sees bacteria and viruses as life (which any Druid would tell you is fact), and views them as creatures of equal importance as well as any other human or animal. His motives are not one of a dark and evil origin, only the ignorance of a god who feels that the world needs more life on it, the Pathomancers are more, if anything, the ones that use his boon for negative influence. What really is a Pathomancer? A Pathomancer isn't a Conjurationist or Druid who has decided it was in his or her best interests to bring death and disease to a relatively unwilling planet. The reason for Pathomancers is similar to the reason of War Clerics: to fight and defend the religion which they so dearly believe. Pathomancers view themselves as battle priests and defenders of their church, though in order to view the situation as that you must surely be ignorant or insane. Pathomancers, while they purposefully kill and maim, do not see themselves as evil, after all alignment is only subjective. Pathomancers view that, while taking a life of a living being, they can produce millions upon millions more in the form of bacteria and viruses which would spread through the air to infect more people. To others, of course, this is merely the insanity of a rogue mage who is attempting to take over the world. There are, however, rogue followers of the religion, that choose to use his boon for evil and dark influences, such as mass killings, however; The Rot still sees them as fighters and spreaders of his much loved diseases. How does a Pathomancer get his or her magical abilities? A Pathomancer does not simply will themself into existence, it is a long and rather arduous process through the church. First of all one must convert to "The Grotesque Church in the Belief of The Rot " and rise through the ranks to become a priest. Once the other Pathomancers come to a majority decision to allow a new priest into their ranks, they all gather around the initiate and beg and pray to The Rot to give this upstart the knowledge of vast and ever changing species of disease and the magical knowhow to do it. The priest will then injure himself and give an open wound so that The Rot can "mark" the follower: this means that the priest will endure countless infections at a rapid pace, being kept alive by the prayer of his brethren and the will of The Rot; which then is followed by the receiving of the knowledge of the magic given to all Pathomancers when they once start their journey. This does not mean, however; that a Pathomancer is as strong as an expert and has the knowledge of a master, these skills will take time to develop just as any other magic would. How does Pathomancy even work? Pathomancy works by the communication between the Pathomancer and The Rot, to put it simply, the Pathomancer will pray or speak to The Rot to use the magic, similar to Priest Healing. And unlike other magics such as conjuration, the virus or bacteria stay inside the world once the Pathomancer cuts connection with The Rot, which is a rare trait of magic, indeed. Pathomancers will use the magic and knowledge given to them by The Rot to manipulate bacteria and viruses either already inside the recipient's body, or in the surrounding air, to be injected into the body and then being multiplied one million fold, causing either quick or instant infection. This cannot be done with Druidism or Conjuration, however; because of the rate at which disease evolves at. Druids and Conjurationists could, in theory, find one specific type of bacteria or virus and study it long enough to be able to create it from the Void, but then what? The immune system would easily fight it off and it couldn't evolve because it was from the Void, not to mention that in order to make millions appear and be able to reproduce would be far too much for either of those two to be able to handle. What can a Pathomancer do? Well now we all know how Pathomancy works, but what can you do with it? Well, the possibilities are almost endless. Since they manipulate already formed bacteria and viruses in the air, they could poison meats and drinks, even make weapons become infectious and rusty things that's sole power isn't for its stab, but its diseases. As long as you are capable of manipulating a virus or bacteria, you can do it. Guide The scaling system for Pathomancers is a bit different from other magics: their skill levels are based off of disease names, not tiers or titles like master or expert. Common Cold: This is the first step for Pathomancers. They learn how to manipulate disease and learn to better communicate with The Rot. At this stage Pathomancers are able to make people sniffle and cough for a little bit, nothing too drastic or noticeable. Small symptoms occur here, for instance mild fevers and the like. This will take 2 elvish weeks to complete. Pneumonia: Pathomancers begin to dabble into the art of stomach and chest pains, as well as vomiting. Nothing fatal can be done yet, though their ability to continue diseases amplifies, as well as disease abilities (louder coughing and more violent sneezing, etc. etc.). This takes 1 elvish month to complete. Influenza: Pathomancers are now capable of killing a person, though it takes a lot out of them. They can cause people to retch up so much that their body can't handle it anymore and will shut down. Short term disease become easy for them, and chest and stomach pains can become unbearable. They now are capable of making people feel large chills and the "need to go now" if you catch my drift. Making fevers also become largely apparent in this field. This takes 3 elvish months to complete. Cholera: Pathomancers become even more attuned to disease and death. They can now sufficiently kill 3 men by making them projectile-vomit, and they can cause respiratory failure, among other things. This is when a Pathomancer's knowledge becomes extremely advanced and it is impossible for a list to be written of all the things Pathomancers are capable of at this level. One interesting characteristic to note, however; is that they can now poison and taint food and water, becoming more attune to The Rot. This will take 4 elvish months to complete. Plauge: If you find a Pathomancer of this skill-level, your best bet is to run and hide. They have become so attuned to disease that they appear to be living embodiments of the disease themselves. They can kill up to 5 men, maybe more depending on their time spent at this level, by various diseases. They can even make long term illnesses such as arthritis or respiratory problems (requires OOC consent). Once you reach this level, your skill increases gradually, about every 2 elvish weeks you grow stronger (incrementally, not like "wow 2 elvish weeks time to murder everyone"). Another noted thing about this group is that they can create a sort of area about them that can be filled with bacteria and filth so that they may be impervious - for a short time - to up close attacks. Plants will also seem to wilt in the presence of these advanced Pathomancers. Pros: · Pathomancers are impervious to disease due to the fact that they had to go through and build an immunity to multitudes of diseases during their initiation. · The magic itself is diverse and, in my opinion, fun. · It holds great rewards for those who really stick with the magic until the end. · It could add a lot of roleplay for you and your character. Cons: · It takes awhile to get much advancement in the magic. · The magic itself takes longer than normal ones. · Pathomancers will start to slowly appear green and diseased looking the more powerful they become and the longer they study the magic, this is merely a side effect of The Rot's mark on them, this is generally in the form of green skin and maybe boils/cysts. · Because of the effects of the mark you will be easily noticed. Red Lines: No over-exerting yourself. MUST have OOC consent for long term diseases. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS make some form of fatigue, even if you're advanced doing a simple thing. MUST be a member of their church of The Rot