{"id":1763,"date":"2013-06-25T10:46:21","date_gmt":"2013-06-25T17:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/?p=1763"},"modified":"2013-06-25T10:46:21","modified_gmt":"2013-06-25T17:46:21","slug":"hanging-curse-a-new-power-for-better-angels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/2013\/06\/hanging-curse-a-new-power-for-better-angels\/","title":{"rendered":"Hanging Curse – A New Power for ‘Better Angels’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Better-Angels-cover-v4-front-612px\"<\/a>Written by Greg Stolze, \u00a9 2013<\/em><\/p>\n

Hanging Curse (Corruption<\/i>)<\/h2>\n

While the curse of being hung by the neck until dead would be useful for agents of demonic malice, that\u2019s not exactly versatile.\u00a0 No, the \u2018hanging curse\u2019 takes its name from the way it hangs, like the legendary Sword of Damocles, until one day it drops.<\/p>\n

It works like this: The demonic supervillain gestures dramatically and declares, \u201cMy ire shall fall upon thee should you ever talk to Janice again!\u201d or some other similar trigger condition.\u00a0 \u201c…should you ever raise violent hand against me\u201d is a pragmatic alternative, while \u201c…the next time thou hast the temerity to micturate standing up\u201d is a dramatic combo of cruelty and weird specificity.\u00a0 The trigger action can vary widely.<\/p>\n

The effect of the curse varies, but as long as you rolled a Patient Corruption <\/i>set while placing it, it goes into effect the instant the target performs the forbidden action. Specifically, the curse immediately removes one point from a designated Virtuous Strategy. The point does not slide; it\u2019s just gone. It comes back only in the usual difficult ways you gain points in a Virtuous Strategy.<\/b><\/p>\n

You can curse someone as many times as you want, but the most recent success is the only one that\u2019s supernaturally enforced.\u00a0 (You may not want to let people know that\u2014if you fool them, they might avoid five or six behaviors, not just the last one forbidden.\u00a0 On the other hand, if they notice that one curse didn\u2019t take effect, they may assume all of them are bluff.\u00a0 Take your chances.\u00a0 If they do<\/i> know the curse works, it\u2019s really fun to call out two or three fakes with each real one.)<\/p>\n

The overarching effect of the Hanging Curse is to give your enemies an unpalatable choice.\u00a0 They can avoid the action you forbade (thereby letting you control them) or they can suck it up and take the hit on Patient<\/b>, Open <\/b>or Insightful<\/b>.\u00a0 Once the curse discharges, it\u2019s done until another is placed.<\/p>\n

While the Hanging Curse is powerful, it does have limits.\u00a0 First off, it only works if the victim can hear and comprehend the forbiddance. (If she doesn\u2019t know what to avoid, she doesn\u2019t squirm, and what\u2019s the fun for your demon in that?) Secondly, it\u2019s one to a customer. You can actually remove someone\u2019s Hanging Curse by replacing it with something like \u201cYeah yeah, feel my wrath if you ever, um, jump to the sun.\u201d\u00a0 The quality of the roll doesn\u2019t matter, remember\u2014just how recent it is.<\/p>\n

As for the form the curse takes, that\u2019s up to you.\u00a0 If you target Patience<\/b>, he could become subtly scatterbrained or plagued by terrifying hallucinatory clowns.\u00a0 A decrease in Insightful <\/b>could inflict Tourette\u2019s-like impulsive cursing, or it could just be a shady cast to his features that make every statement and question seem vaguely sleazy.\u00a0 Open <\/b>could be anything from weeping sores to sourceless lethargy.<\/p>\n

Written by Greg Stolze, \u00a9 2013<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Greg Stolze, \u00a9 2013 Hanging Curse (Corruption) While the curse of being hung by the neck until dead would be<\/p>\n

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