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Horror Rules / Horror Characters / Corruption

Manifestation Level

Source Horror Adventures pg. 15
Each creature with a corruption has a manifestation level, which is normally equal to the number of manifestations the corrupted creature has (see Variants for exceptions). Sometimes gifts and stains become more extreme as a creature’s manifestation level increases.

You gain a new manifestation roughly every 2 levels. GMs can introduce corruptions as early as your 1st character level. A standard rate of corruption starts with a PC gaining the first stain at 1st level, the second at 3rd level, and another at 5th, 7th, 9th, and so on. Because you are limited to nine manifestations, your manifestation level can’t exceed 9th.

This standard rate of acquisition is a guideline rather than a strict rule. Many corruptions feature story considerations that could speed up or slow down the process, and individual GMs can alter the speed to serve the campaign’s narrative. When introducing a corruption at higher levels, a GM could accelerate the rate at which the first manifestations are acquired or grant multiple manifestations at once. In any case, the GM decides when a corruption progresses, not you (though variants can alter this, as described in Variants).

Archives of Nethys

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Manifestation Level