Maleficence

When magic goes wrong, draw on the appropriate maleficence table (pp. 202-203). This represents a catastrophic intrusion of the energies of the far realms into the realm of Flesh.

Here are some circumstances where magic goes wrong:

• A sorcerer is hurt while concentrating on a spell

• Two spells cancel each other out

• A sorcerer is interrupted during spellcasting

• Other instances, per the GM's devising

When maleficence comes into play, things get interesting.

Body horror and other upsetting stuff

Many maleficence effects change or alter an adventurer’s body, sometimes in upsetting ways. Some players will find this fun; others less so.

Handling sensitive issues and negotiating players’ comfort level is one of the social skills the GM needs. When someone has an issue, be genuinely excited to try and solve it with them. Be up front about this possibility during your session 0 and willing to change how maleficence works at your table to accommodate your fellow players’ feelings. Be kind.

Maleficence of the Wastes

A number of imps (Appendix C, p. 266) appear equal to I the value of the top card in the minor arcana’s discard pile.

The sorcerer vomits a pregnant rat, which falls to the ground and explodes as a surfeit of baby rats II spill bloodily from her belly. Disease oozes from the undulating mass.

The putrid stink of a mass grave fills the area. If the III adventurers stay in the area, they all become Stressed due to the smell.

A chill, green fog rises. All exposed metal items the guild IV carries suffer two Notches as the fog rusts and corrupts the metal.

Demonic flies fill this room. All perishable items will V soon be consumed as the flies swarm into their packs, leaving behind demonic maggots.

Wounds stop closing. The guild cannot heal Wounded VI talents or the Injured condition until the Fool causes the decks to be reshuffled.

The sorcerer begins to uncontrollably weep blood. It’s hard to see anything through bloody tears (disfavor in VII combat or any vision-based activities). And, of course, it ruins their robes. This persists until the Fool causes the decks to be reshuffled.

An invisible mark appears on the sorcerer’s forehead. The sorcerer becomes the primary target of all undead VIII creatures. They wish to talk to them, to touch them, to kiss them, to hurt them, to make them understand. This lasts until the mark is cleansed (per GM’s discretion).

The sorcerer’s shadow departs to perform some IX mischief. It will return once it’s gotten into some sort of trouble. Until then, the sorcerer lacks a shadow.

The sorcerer immediately begins vomiting up a parasitic twin in chunks: little hands, eyes, hair, teeth. X They can do very little until the whole thing is out. In a Challenge, this gives the sorcerer the Stunned effect. This maleficence lasts for an entire watch.

The sorcerer’s irises become golden, like a wolf’s. This Page change is permanent.

The sorcerer grows black, goat-like horns. These are Knight permanent, but can be sawed off without any pain. Just the stumps will remain.

The sorcerer’s reflection (in mirrors and other reflective surfaces) begins to rapidly decompose. Eventually, Queen they’ll only see their bleached white skull when they look into a mirror. This is permanent.

The entire region is blighted. Plants wither and die. King Mothers yield only stillbirths. If the sorcerer is near civilization, there will be consequences.

Maleficence of the Weald

A hairless ape crawls into reality. It disembowels I itself, presenting its intestines to the sorcerer with an ingratiating smile. It then dies, smiling all the while.

Shrieker mushrooms quickly bloom around the sorcerer. Any movement through the area raises a II mighty ruckus that provokes a random encounter draw on the Meatgrinder table.

Thorns sprout and fill the sorcerer’s zone, Rooting III everybody. Everyone must untangle themselves. During a Challenge, this requires the Recover action.

Evil weather manifests physically in the Underworld— IV the caverns fill with torrential rains, blizzards, or simooms.

Any potions carried by the sorcerer explode. The V bottles are Destroyed. This causes any items written adjacent to them on the adventurer sheet to be ruined.

Lightning arcs out of the sorcerer’s body and Wounds VI everybody carrying metal in the room, friend or foe.

Every animal on the Meatgrinder table for this region is drawn towards the sorcerer. The next watch VII is automatically an encounter with every animal in the area.

All wooden objects (wands, doors, chests, staffs, torches, bows, etc.) near the sorcerer warp and twist, as if bent by a giant’s hands. All wooden objects in VIII the room are Destroyed. Traps on wooden doors or chests are triggered and affect whatever’s nearest them, as applicable.

An earthquake shakes the area within one mile of the IX sorcerer. Structures not built to last are destroyed.

The sorcerer’s clothes and gear catch on fire. They immediately take a Wound. The sorcerer must put X themselves out or they will continue to burn; this is a Recover action during a Challenge. The GM should arbitrate how this is done, and potential consequences.

The sorcerer’s legs turn backwards and grow fur, Page reminiscent of a goat’s. This is permanent.

The sorcerer buds a thick, meaty fungus that grows like Knight an insipid cancer on their skin. This is permanent until the disease can be cured. Eating it is addictive.

The sorcerer is Cursed with lycanthropy. When the moon shines, they undergo a change: it is messy, Queen uncontrolled, and violent. Lycanthropy is permanent unless a cure is discovered.

The guild is now the subject of a Wild Hunt. A gnome politely informs the guild that they now have a one-King day head start before an army of wood elves does their very best to try and kill them. Good luck.

Maleficence of the Weird

The sorcerer loses their voice. They are Silenced until the Fool causes the decks to be reshuffled. Later, I the sorcerer’s relatives swear they heard the sorcerer calling to them from the darkness.

Nightmarish idols of Jungian manifestations are II rapidly built by invisible hands out of any available material near the sorcerer.

Everybody in the room (including the sorcerer) must III immediately test Wands. Any who fail suffer the Knockout effect and fall into a deep sleep.

Everybody in the sorcerer’s zone (including the IV sorcerer) is immediately Inspired with a random Disposition (p. 99). Roleplay as appropriate.

A mouth opens on the back of the sorcerer’s skull. It babbles in Tylwyth. The GM immediately delivers a V rumor to anybody who can understand it. The mouth, drooling, remains until the Fool reshuffles the decks.

The sorcerer begins weeping gooey, saline-tasting VI tears. They also weep out several small oozes that crawl away to eat and get big.

The sorcerer’s skin, organs, and muscles become invisible. Until the Fool shuffles the decks, the VII sorcerer appears to be an animate skeleton with an interwoven system of nerves and veins. It’s creepy as fuck. GM characters are horrified.

The sorcerer becomes a living illusion. An illusion is nothing but a hologram. They cannot interact with the plane of Flesh or cast spells, but can see and be seen. VIII However, anything illusory is real to the sorcerer. An illusory sword can cut them, an illusory dragon can eat them. This persists until the Fool shuffles the decks.

The sorcerer is no longer able to speak except in rhyme. Everything they say in character must be in the IX form of rhyming couplets. This lasts until after the next Camp Phase.

The sorcerer’s worst nightmare physically manifests in the realm of Flesh during step 3 of the next Camp X Phase. The GM and the sorcerer’s player should talk beforehand about what this is.

The sorcerer’s coloring pales. Their hair, skin, and Page irises become milky white. This is permanent.

The sorcerer grows a third eye in the center of their Knight forehead. Whenever they use Dwimmercraft, this eye opens. Otherwise, it’s unnoticeable. This is permanent.

A hekatephage—a Shrouded and intangible spirit that devours magic—begins following the sorcerer. The Queen sorcerer must find some way to banish or defeat it or any non-concentration spell is ended prematurely.

The sorcerer is permanently Cursed with Silence. However, illusory text hovers over their head for a King few moments when they speak, like speech balloons. Luckily, they can still cast spells.

Maleficence of the Welkin

The players that sit to the left and the right of the sorcerer have all of their adventurers’ conditions I Healed. The sorcerer suffers an equal number of Wounds. (If this kills the sorcerer, they are canonized.)

Painful boils rise on the sorcerer’s skin, a side effect II from undiluted celestial radiation. The sorcerer takes a Wound and becomes Stressed.

Rations in the current room become strangely tainted: III water turns to blood and dried meat becomes pulsing flesh. Only purely vegan rations are unaffected.

Divine locusts, with hard, golden, metallic shells and IV human faces, swarm. They destroy all foliage and plant life in the entire dungeon level.

An angelic chant manifests around the sorcerer. The music is beautiful, but loud. Stealth is impossible. The V chanting subsides the next time the Fool causes the decks to be reshuffled.

The sorcerer manifests the piteous stigmata of VI Mythrys. They are Exhausted until they use a City Action to pray at a mythraeum.

All weapons (except those explicitly made of iron) in the sorcerer’s current room are permanently VII transformed into tools of similar sizes or shapes. For example, a sword might be transformed into a plowshare or a spear into a pruning hook.

The sorcerer’s brow is lit with a halo. Everybody is suitably impressed, except for spirits. All spirits have an automatic negative reaction to the sorcerer and, VIII in combat, will target them above all others. This halo lasts until the sorcerer uses a City Action to pray at a mythraeum.

A ghostly hand manifests nearby and begins scribing a prophecy in Vetus on a nearby surface, foretelling IX doom unless very specific (and unlikely) set of requirements is fulfilled.

Upon their return to the City, any guild members who are parents are informed that their firstborn child has X died. It is reported that the sorcerer’s name is written in runes across their deceased child’s forehead.

Greed is a vile sin. Precious coins and gems on the Page sorcerer’s person permanently become scarabs.

An animate statue emerges from stone. It looks almost Knight exactly like a stony twin of the sorcerer. Its mission is to kill and replace the sorcerer.

The sorcerer becomes 8 months pregnant, regardless of whether they have the normal equipment required. Queen While pregnant, they are Exhausted. If carried to term, a semi-divine child is brought into the world.

A discharge-brown star appears in the sky. At the end of the third night, a tremendous meteor destroys King a random district of the City, which makes the City uninhabitable for weeks and weeks.