Abyssal Mutation

Often considered the side effect of prolonged exposure to areas, magic, or people corrupted by the Oroborous, abyssal mutation is categorized for its unusual, if not maddening alteration of the mind, body, and soul. Those most often affected are those with latent magical talent, or with blood ties to antinomian practitioners such as the Scelesti.

Mutants within Society
Pending...

New Merit: Abyssal Mutation (••• to •••••; special)
Benefit: Upon purchase, this merit grants the character a powerful mutation from the list presented below. 3 dots grants a mutation from the tier 1 list, while 4 dots grants a mutation from the tier 2 list, and finally, 5 dots grants a mutation from the tier 3 list. This merit can be purchased multiple times, but the character cannot choose a mutation they already have.

Drawback: In addition to said-mutation's personal drawback, signs of physical corruption are generally unnerving to outsiders. All social rolls save intimidation gain a -2 penalty per mutation owned (unless the targets are servants of the Abyss, in which case it becomes a +2 bonus instead). Furthermore, the character suffers a -3 penalty on all checks to resist derangement.

Tier 1
Brute Strength: The mutant's musculature is massive compared to that of the average human, granting a +2 to all Strength rolls. However, due to this focus on the physical, the mutant is less developed in the brain, and suffers a -1 to Intelligence.

Night Eyes: Used to low light or utter darkness, the mutant can see perfectly in the dark, and suffers no penalty to Perception when lacking a light source. This comes at the price of not being able to tolerate bright illumination, and causes a -2 to Perception when in such a situation.

Razor Fangs: ???

Unnatural Grace: ???

Tier 2
Gelatinous Girth: Huge and corpulent in their body mass, the mutant is unnaturally buoyant, and suffers half-damage (rounded down) from bashing attacks. The side effect is that the mutant loses the 10-again rule for all dexterity checks, and can only run at half their normal speed, due to immense weight gain.

Devil's Tongue: ???

Toxic Blood: Having their blood saturated with toxic pollutants and poisonous chemicals, the mutant gains a +1 to stamina rolls against disease and being poisoned. In addition, their blood has a toxicity level equal to double the number of mutations they have. Even a single drop of the stuff contains the maximum dose of venom. Unfortunately, their body heals slower than usual, taking twice the time it normally takes to heal a given wound.

Tier 3
Horrid Maw: The character has a slavering maw that manifests over one location of their body. It can be anywhere, but is fixed once designated. The naval, genitals, and neck are all possible, maximizing the horror of gnashing teeth and an animate tongue. The mouth acts as a +3 weapon doing lethal damage in brawl attacks. Characters with this mutation may bite without grappling the target, but gain a 9-again effect for damage if done so. Unfortunately, the mouth appears to have a mind of its own (sometimes even talking), and requires feeding equal to half the average amount the character eats in a day, lest it begin eating things at random, or worse, itself.

Regeneration: A coveted mutation by many, this allows the mutant to heal their body a number of bashing damage per success on a Resolve + Stamina check after expending 1 WP point. However, the strange internal workings of the body makes things exceptionally difficult for anyone to give medical assistance to the mutant, causing a -3 to all Medicine checks they receive.

Swarm: The mutant's body is infested with a swarm of tiny abyssal insects that he can mentally command at will. Indeed, they will defend the host to the last, pouring forth either from holes in the flesh, or any other orifice the mutant may have. On the first turn, the swarm leaves the host, filling the air with a horrible buzzing sound. On the following turn, once the swarm has formed up, it can divide itself and attack anyone within five yards of the mutant. The Size of the swarm is equal to the number of dots in stamina the mutant has. When attacking multiple targets, divide the size of the swarm by enemies present (round up) to determine the size of the swarm attacking each individual. The one problem with this mutation is that it causes the host to reek of decay, and suffer a -3 to all stealth checks.

Umbral Halo: Rare among mutations, the Umbral halo is an abyssal aura that surrounds the mutant in a zone of unholy dread. It renders the mutant immune to attempts at supernatural mind reading, and is hated most especially among magi, who suffer a -3 against causing a paradox when their spell targets the mutant, or is cast within a radius of 100 ft from said-mutant. However, if the mutant himself casts magic, he suffers the same penalty. Worse, the mutant suffers from constant nightmares, unable to gain willpower points from resting.

Wings: With this mutation, the character gains a set of wings. They can be leathery like a bat's, feathered like a bird, or even look like insect wings. The mutant must roll Dexterity + Athletics to take flight, and can fly at triple their normal speed. The downside is that most articles of clothing and armor they wear will need to be custom made to either conceal or work around the wings, and people gain a +3 advantage to investigation checks when trying to track the character down (due to the obvious nature of the mutation).