The Price of Power: Chaos Magic - Part 2

In Part One, I covered the difference between Lawful and Chaotic magic, as well as the basic mechanics of casting Chaos sorcery. In this post, we cover the inherent dangers of dabbling in dark magic.

Chris Cold

The Price of Power

Chaos magic is notoriously dangerous. A common conceit in fantasy fiction is that the magic of Chaos corrupts and mutates those who are brave or foolish enough to use it. Those drawn to the power of such magic often bear dark marks, strange mutations (extra eyes, twisted limbs, etc.) and are slowly driven to madness. Chaos magic can also taint the world itself. Sites of repeated dark rituals become unholy ground, granting extra power to other spells cast at the location, but also bearing twisted, supernatural scars.

As discussed in part one, side effects which can befall practitioners of Chaos magic include lesser and greater corruption. These unpredictable manifestations of chaos are represented below by the rolling on the corresponding tables. Additionally, the lasting effects of repeated casting of dark magic in a single location is represented by the desecration table below.

Corruption Check

When a character harnesses the unknowable forces of Chaos to cast a spell, there is always the risk of something going horribly awry. To summarize the mechanics from my pervious article: When rolling a spell casting check, if doubles are rolled the player must roll on the Lesser Corruption table. If three or more dice match, the player must roll on the Major Corruption table.

Corruption Check: 1d12 minus spell level plus Constitution modifier

Lesser Corruption Table

Roll	Result
1 or lower	Disaster. Roll on the Major Corruption table.
2	Snakes. Character vomits forth 1d4 Spitting Cobras.
3	Insect Swarm. Character is constantly surrounded by a buzzing cloud of flies. -3 Charisma.
4	Corpulence. Character gains 6d12 pounds. -2 Dexterity.
5	Inferno. Character is wreathed in flames. 1d4 random items in their possession are destroyed. Magic items must save vs spell or be destroyed.
6	Demonic taint. Roll 1d4: (1) fingers elongate into claws (1d6 damage); (2) feet become cloven hoofs; (3) legs become goat-like; (4) smells of brimstone.
7	Degeneration. Character ages rapidly, becoming 2d10 years older over the course of 1 turn. -1d4 Strength, +1d4 Wisdom.
8	Envigoration. Character rejuvenates rapidly, becoming 2d10 years younger over the course of 1 turn. +1d4 Strength or +1d4 Dexterity, -1d4 Wisdom.
9	Odd Gait. One of the character’s legs grows 1d6 inches, causing them to walk with a noticable hobble.
10	Size Change. Character’s height changes by 1d20 -10 inches. There is no change in weight.
11	Lumps. Character's body is covered by lumps the size of apples.
12	Second Mouth. Character gains a second mouth. Roll 1d4: (1) hand; (2) neck; (3) knee; (4) hip.
13	Boils. Character is covered in painful boils that take 1d4 weeks to heal.
14	Tongue. Character's tongue mutates. Roll 1d4: (1) frog tongue; (2) snake tongue; (3) anteater tongue; (4) swollen (difficult to talk).
15	Musk Gland. Character can now mark their territory. Smells like old socks.
16	Compound Eyes. Character's eyes become compound, like those of a fly.
17	Alignment. Character's alignment changes to Chaotic. If already Chaotic, +1d4 Charisma.
18	Third Eye. Character gains a third eye in the middle of their forehead.
19	Fangs. Character's teeth sharpen into a viscous maw (1d4 bite).
20+	Exhaustion. Character passes out and is unconscious for 1d6 turns.

Greater Corruption Table

Roll	Result
1 or lower	Beast Head Character’s head transforms overnight... painfully. Roll 1d6: (1) reptile; (2) goat; (3) bull; (4) rat; (5) ape; (6) fish.
2	Feeble. Character becomes emaciated and frail. -1d4 Strength
3	Blindness. The character's eyes go milky white.
4	Tentacle. One of the character's limbs is replaced by a suckered tentacle. Cannot perform tasks requiring fine motor skills. Roll 1d4: (1) left arm; (2) right arm; (3) left left; (4) right leg.
5	Hunchback. Character stands with an unnatural hunch. -1d4 Charisma.
6	Lumbering Oaf. Character grows unevenly. +1d6 Strength and +1d6 Constitution. -1d8 Intelligence.
7	Snake Heads. One of the character's arms (determine randomly) mutates into 1d4 disobediant snake heads (1d4 bite).
8	Slug Slime. Character gains the ability to slowly climb any surface a slug could climb. Always sticky.
9	Beak. Character's mouth is replaced with a beak (1d4 bite). Character gains the tendancy to randomly squalk while talking.
10	Homunculi Gland. If the character is killed, a new version of them with bursts forth from within their body. New character has 1/2 the size, ability scores, hp, and memories of the original.
11	Tail. Character grows a tail. Roll 1d6: (1) bushy bovine tail; (2) scaly reptilian tail; (3) fluffy canine tail; (4) forked demon tail; (5) fleshy tail ending in a third hand; (6) scorpion tail (1d4 + poison).
12	Skin. Character's skin mutates. Roll 1d4: (1) hard, metallic skin (unarmored AC 6 [13]); (2) chameleon skin (changes color to fit environment); (3) rough, scaly skin; (4) wet, slimy amphibian skin.
13	Extra Arm. Character's grows an extra arm. Can wear an additional ring. Roll 1d6: (1) back; (2) left shoulder; (3) right shoulder; (4) left hip; (5) right hip; (6) midsection.
14	Horns. Character grows horns (1d4 damage).
15	Crab Claw. One of the character's hands transforms into a massive crab-like claw (1d6 damage).
16	Acid Blood. Character's blood becomes highly acidic. Attackers take 1d4 damage when they deal damage to you.
17	Evil Eye. One of the character's eyes becomes large and unblinking. Chance of finding secret doors increases to 2-in-6. If it was already 2-in-6, it becomes 3-in-6. -1 Charisma
18	Gills. Character grows gills and webbed appendages.
19	Hulking Muscles. Character gains 2d10 pounds of muscle. +2 Strength. -1 Dexterity.
20+	Dead Nerves. Character loses the ability to feel all but the most extreme pain. +1d4 hit points.

Next time, we'll outline a basic list Chaotic spells. Thanks for reading.

Part 1