New corruption ideas

[Dudley]

Play beasties.

[Grey]

"Your fingers transform into worms."
-6 Dexterity, 1d6 chance of dropping weapon every 2d6 turns, Will stop worms of any type from reproducing.

Maybe something less debilitating to melee types:

"Your flesh continually spouts disease-ridden maggots"
-6 To, +4 DV, all worms encountered are friendly, every 50-100 turns you spawn a worm at a cost of 1d3 HP damage

[Dervi]

"You constantly emit a putrid gas."
Chance to poison other beings in a certain radius (hostile or not...)

"You gained the Midas Touch."
Everything you pick up (except key items/artifacts) turns into gold.

"You have grown a third arm."
Allows to use a two-handed weapon with another weapon or shield. Penalty to Dex, Chr and Ap.

"You have developped brain tumors."
Huge boost to Per, Le, PP. Huge decrease in lifespan.

"Your body becomes incorporeal."
Permanently invisible and able to cross walls. Cannot use items.

Mostly unbalanced, but corruptions are not meant to be fair... SoCRs exist for unwanted corruptions.

[JellySlayer]

Well, Midas touch and incorporeal can't be treated with SoCRs...

[Spellweaver]

I think Midas Touch should be blocked the same way poison hands do, though maybe with some other gauntlets.
Incorporeal is really strange, how are you going to even remove it?

[Grey]

I don't like "Midas Touch" purely for the reference to Greek mythology. ADOM has plenty of creatures and such from different mythologies, but no actual references to individual characters or stories. Having such a reference in there would break the immersion somewhat.

One could call it "Alchemist's touch" or something similar I guess.

[bolverk]

Maybe it would be called "Stone touch":

10 percent chance of petrificating target (bare handed), every weapon you touch becomes weapon of stone.

This would be dealt as the poison hands corruption with thick gauntlets. But I don't like turning everything into gold. This would be the niecest corruption anyone could ever dream if dealt like the poison hands (thick gauntlets).

[Spellweaver]

How about turning every weapon into a golden weapon?

[bolverk]

I guess this would affect the whole weapon system, but turning eternium club of penetration into regular stone club (1d6) would be enough harm

[Aielyn]

Before I make suggestions for specific corruptions, I have a suggestion for making the corruption sets feel coherent - have them categorised, and then the player can get exactly one corruption per category. So, for instance, there might be a set of "eye corruptions". Those special corruptions that are necessary to be able to enter certain locations, or otherwise unlock things could be their own categories, in order to keep them from becoming inaccessible.

Now, I have two sets of ideas. The first set are standalone ideas. The second set are ideas within categories.

Standalone corruptions
- You find it difficult to remember recent events (Le:-5): Everything known up until the moment of receiving the corruption remains, but you are incapable of retaining any further knowledge or memories. Attempts to read spellbooks will result in the PC reading the same page multiple times before giving up. Using Magic Map will reveal parts of the map, but they will disappear again on the next turn. Identifying objects will work for only a turn, before their identities are forgotten again. A change in blessed/uncursed/cursed status of an object will cause the object status to become unknown on the next turn. Experience gain would be reduced to 1/4 of normal, and no skill gains or Talent gains would be possible. Lost memories cannot be restored by curing the corruption, it just enables new memories to be made. The one upside is that rate of memory loss of spells on casting would be halved.
- You feel invincible (Le:-10 To:+2 Ch:+5 DV:-10): You're not, really. Basically, you become a daredevil, and make much less effort to dodge attacks or learn anything. Could perhaps allow you to enter the Rift when you don't otherwise satisfy the conditions (still fully subject to effects of entering, though).
- You have grown a pair of bat-like wings (DV:-3 PV:+1 Dx:-5 To:-2 Ch:+1): No longer fall into pit traps, can travel over water (like a bat), and can enter the rift safely (conditions still apply, though - if you have this AND "You feel invincible", you can enter the rift at any time safely).
- You feel spiritually empty (Le:+3): Prevents all positive religious events and blocks prayer. Also prevents the effects of Fate Smiles AND Dooming (Cursed and Lucky still work as normal). Note that it doesn't block becoming doomed, just the effects, so if you become doomed while you have it, then cure the corruption, you now experience the effects of dooming.
- You feel as though Chaos speaks through you (Wi:-5 Ch:+10 Ap:+1): The corruption rate increases by 50% while you have this corruption, making it very dangerous. However, chaos creatures (not counting orb guardians, of course) have only a 10% chance of being hostile while you have this corruption. Corruption rate increase is only 10% if mute.
- You feel spiritually slippery (Dx:-5 Wi:-5 Ma:-10): Cursed items will not lock themselves to you (indeed, they won't be revealed to be cursed at all). Negative effects of cursing will remain while cursed items are wielded, however.
- Your left hand has become unusually large (Dx:-3 St:+5 To:+2 Ap:-4): Think Hellboy. Grants the ability to wield two-handed weapons in just the left hand, freeing up the right hand for other weapons or shields. Note that it's the left hand, and thus experiences left-hand penalties, and that bearing a two-handed weapon in the right hand still blocks the left hand from being used for something else. Useful when fighting bare-handed.
- Your body is capable of squeezing through tight spaces (1/2 x weight; Ap:-3 To:-4 Speed:+10): Enables player to switch positions with any creature, irrespective of hostility. Also can be used in place of Thin and Nimble corruption for getting into the quickling tree.

Breath corruptions
- You exhale X (all Ch:-4): like the "You exhale Sulphur" corruption, but with multiple possibilities, rather than just acid spit. Other than Sulphur (Acid), X could also be Icicles (Cold), Steam (Fire), Noisily (Shock), Smog (Poison), or Lifeforce (like Magic missile, but in spit form). All of these could perhaps also gain an added, but small, risk of "hiccups" resulting in spontaneous use of the ability in a random direction, maybe a little more likely if doomed and/or cursed.
Eye-related corruptions (in addition to "You have grown a total of 12 eyes")
- Your eyes have adapted to the darkness (Pe:-2 Ap:-3): You gain the ability to see in darkness. Perception decreases by 2 normally, but increases by 5 in darkness. Appearance loss because your eyes look more wild and dark.
- Your eyes have merged to form one larger eye (Pe:+4 Ap:-2 Ch:-2): You become a cyclops (in terms of eyes), which gives you improved perception, but only if not wearing any headwear.
- You are blinded (Pe:+10 Dx:+2 Ch:+2 Ap:-3): Although blind, you are still able to see within one space in each direction, due to tactile perception and sound-based perception. Corruption grants your other senses dramatic boosts, enabling greater perception for anything that isn't about seeing. Ignores invisibility, darkness, etc.
- Your eyes glow with malevolence (Ch:-10 Ap:-10): Your eyes become a light source (completely nullifying invisibility if you have it), and all hostile monsters go berserk at random times. Can be countered by anything that blinds.
- Your eyes are attuned to the astral plane (Pe:+3): Grants the ability to see invisible. One of the rare corruptions that are pretty much entirely positive.
Health corruptions (in addition to "Your corrupted tissue seems to heal much faster")
- Your bodily tissues seem to be in a state of decay (Ap:-5 St:-5 Wi:+10 Speed:-10): Healing rate slowed by 50%. Basically, you find yourself holding onto life by willpower alone, and essentially become something of a zombie in body (albeit not in mind).
- You find the thought of meat repugnant (St:-2 Wi:-2 Le:+2): You are no longer able to eat any food that is meat, even when starving. Non-meat foods become significantly more nutritious. Healing slows to 70%.
- Your tissues have toughened up (To:+10 Dx:-5 Speed:-40 PV:+5): Similar to stiffened muscles, but focused on the body as a whole. Healing increases by 20%.
- You feel a ravenous hunger (Ap:-2): Healing increases by 50%, but rate of loss of satiation triples. Allows you to eat things you otherwise wouldn't (like doppelgangers for most species). Will consume any food you pick up or otherwise use - could be devastating in conjunction with Poison Hands corruption.