“Besides, the world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters. We’ve all got both light and dark inside of us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.” - Sirius Black, Order of the Phoenix
As a wizard delves into the foul tomes of Dark magic, changes will begin to take place. Experimenting with Dark magic almost always results from an unquenchable thirst for power, an incredibly intense fear or a deep well of hatred. By using twisted magic and committing unspeakable acts, that inner darkness takes a toll on a Dark witch’s physical and mental well-being.
Gaining Corruption Points
Although a wizard’s descent into darkness is gradual, their life is usually marked by definitive moments when the line is finally crossed. Murder, betrayal, and twisted experiments are common in the histories of Dark wizards and witches.
Whenever a character commits an act that represents their growing cruelty, the HM can call for a Wisdom saving throw. The DC of the saving throw is determined by their corruption tier in the table below. If the character fails that saving throw, they gain a single corruption point.
Examples of Corruption Triggers
- Killing a being by reducing it to 0 hit points with a Dark spell, when it could’ve been spared
- Casting an Unforgivable Curse, whether anyone witnesses it or not
- Betraying an ally that trusted you, for your own gain
- Harming innocents in a foreseeable and preventable way
- Manipulating someone into abandoning their morals
- Acting in a way contrary to alignment
As a character reaches higher corruption tiers, the DC of the saving throw increases. Additionally, the higher tiers grant a corruption boon and inflict a corruption effect on the character.
Corruption Tiers
| Tier | Points | Save DC | Alignment Shift | Corruption Boon | Corruption Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pure-Hearted | 0 | 10 | - | - | - |
| Pragmatic | 1-4 | 12 | - | Empowered Darkness | - |
| Devious | 5-7 | 16 | Neutral | - | One Mild Effect |
| Vicious | 8-11 | 22 | - | Heightened Darkness | One Severe Effect |
| Vile | 12+ | - | Dark | Inferi Ritual | One Severe Effect |
Upon reaching a corruption tier with an effect, the character must roll the appropriate die to determine which effect they receive. These effects are cumulative with the effects of lower tiers of corruption.
Removing Corruption Points
The only way to remove corruption is through true, meaningful remorse. Typically, someone must feel remorse for the specific actions that caused the corruption in the first place, but the remorse can also be more general, based on an entire life of wrongdoing. There must be an amount of suffering that is comparable to the suffering inflicted on others.
Based on the actions and inner thoughts of the character, the HM decides if a character is able to remove a corruption point. The factors required for true remorse might be:
- Acknowledging responsibility for the harm caused
- Feeling a deep sadness and regret over the actions
- Seeking to make amends in whatever way possible
If enough corruption points are removed to reach a lower tier, the boon and effect from the previous higher tier are also removed.
Corruption Boons
Empowered Darkness
When you have Empowered Spell as one of your metamagic options and use it on a Dark spell, it costs 0 sorcery points.
Heightened Darkness
You can use the Heightened Spell metamagic when casting a Dark spell, whether it’s one of your metamagic options or not. When you use Heightened Spell on a Dark spell, it costs 1 sorcery point.
Inferi Ritual
By focusing for 10 minutes and expending a 5th level spell slot, this ritual creates an undead servant. Choose a corpse of a Medium or Small humanoid you can touch. Your spell imbues the target with a foul mimicry of life, raising it as an inferius (the HM has the creature’s stats).
As a bonus action, you can mentally command any of your inferi if one is within 60 feet of you. You decide its action and movement during its next turn, or you can issue a general command. If you issue no commands, the creature only defends itself against hostile creatures.
The Dark magic that binds the corpse is permanent. The inferius will only deanimate if you die or if it is destroyed.
Corruption Effects
Mild Effects (d6)
| d6 | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Hoarder |
| 2 | Compulsive |
| 3 | Cough |
| 4 | Reckless |
| 5 | Scent of Decay |
| 6 | Mildly Phobic |
Severe Effects (d8)
| d8 | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Phobic |
| 2 | Jittery |
| 3 | Unnatural Pallor |
| 4 | Paranoid |
| 5 | Crimson Pupils |
| 6 | Distracted |
| 7 | Hallucinations |
| 8 | Sadistic |
Effect Descriptions
Compulsive. You exhibit a mild, compulsive ritual of the HM’s choice, likely associated with some fear. You take 1.5 times as long to complete a short rest.
Cough. You develop an uncontrollable cough. You have disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks.
Crimson Pupils. Your eyes are bloodshot and in the right lighting, even the blackest part of your pupils seem to shine red. You have disadvantage on attack rolls when facing bright light.
Distracted. Your mind has grown scattered. You have disadvantage on Intelligence ability checks, except for Intelligence saving throws.
Hallucinations. Strange visions and sourceless whispers tug at your perception. You have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks.
Hoarder. You are compelled to collect anything that might be useful. Appropriate items stumbled upon must be gathered until at carrying capacity.
Jittery. You become far too easy to startle. You have disadvantage on initiative rolls.
Mildly Phobic. You obsess over a specific creature or person. During the first round of combat with a creature of the chosen type, you are frightened.
Paranoid. You no longer trust the people you meet. Strangers and acquaintances do not count as “friendly” creatures to you for spells and abilities.
Phobic. A specific creature or person invades your dreams. When you enter combat with a creature of the chosen type, you must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC is 10 + your total corruption points). On a failure, you are frightened for 1 minute.
Reckless. You’ve become impulsive. The first attack made against you in any combat has advantage.
Sadistic. Your bloodlust entrances you. Whenever you deal damage, the next attack made against you by anything other than the creature you damaged has advantage.
Scent of Decay. Your body emits a faint stench of death. You have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks.
Unnatural Pallor. Your skin has become pale and waxy. You have disadvantage on Charisma checks, except for Intimidation and saving throws.
Restricted Dark Spells
The following spells simply cannot be cast by your average wizard. They require a more intimate understanding of the darker sides of magic. The Cruciatus Curse is specifically fueled by the desire to inflict pain and the Killing Curse requires pure, unadulterated hatred to end a person’s life.
| Spell Name | Required Corruption Points |
|---|---|
| transmogrify | 2 |
| crucio | 4 |
| azreth | 7 |
| avada kedavra | 11 |
Once you’ve reached the required number of corruption points, you are now able to add that spell to your list of known spells through the usual methods of learning a spell. Once you add a restricted Dark spell to your spell list, you can keep that spell, even if your corruption points return to a number lower than the required amount.