HOSTSA Host is a vessel who has fallen completely to Sleep. Whether through infection, surrender, or the slow erosion of will, these individuals are no longer themselves. Their thoughts, bodies, and even identities have been reshaped to suit the designs of something so powerful they could not contain it. Some may appear lucid at first, some completely feral. They may even speak in familiar tones, use familiar names, or simply snarl. Either way, the soul within has either been extinguished or overwritten. What remains is a twisted shell bursting with Sleep's fungal fingerprints.
ANIMAL HOSTSAnimals that fall to the Murmur can also become Hosts. These creatures, whether wild or once a family pet, twists under Sleep's influence. Types of animals that could be found in the setting has been explained here. They may develop fungal blooms, extra limbs, distorted cries, or tendrils in places you'd least expect.
However, because animals possess simpler cognition, they do not always act like human Hosts. Some remain instinctive, confused, even docile when they shouldn't be. Others become violent— not out of malice, but reflex.
Sleep's influence in hosts could be described as parasitic. Certain animals can be infected, but they are not ideal vessels. The parasite (in this case, Sleep) cannot complete its full life cycle within them. These creatures are incomplete Hosts— functional, but flawed.
SUCCUMBENCESuccumbence is the process by which a vessel becomes a Host. It may be slow— weeks or months of dreams, whispers, and subtle body horrors— or sudden, triggered by trauma, overuse of the Murmur, lack of tethers or voluntary surrender. Some vessels shatter instantly while others fray over time, becoming a shell of what they used to be.
Vessels on the edge of becoming Hosts may exhibit:
๐ฆ Changes in skin texture, tone, or transparency.
๐ฆ Speaking in tongues, reverse speech, or others' voices.
๐ฆ Forgetting names, faces, or emotions.
๐ฆ Increased inability to distinguish dream from waking.
๐ฆ Sudden knowledge of things they shouldn't know.
๐ฆ Vines or fungi blooming from scars— You are free to be as body horror as you'd like.
Despite a generalized list of symptoms, Vessels may experience Succumbence differently depending on their Vessel type. Below are some inspirational ideas to be played with, should you wish to give your character a unique succumbence arc:
All Vessel types may begin to experience their corruption in stages: low, mid and high, before Offerings become Succumbra, a full monstrous shell of what they once were, and Tokens become Succumbentia, collapsing into their own magic where its output overtakes their identity, stability, and physical form. You are free to mix and match symptoms, or even create your own in similar lights.
๐ฆ Example of Low Stage Succumbence: Noticeable shift in behavior or mood, energy becomes unstable, changes in sleep patterns,subtle physical tells (pupil changes, sweating, trembling, slowed movement, etc.), faint vine-like bruising on skin, surroundings feel slightly oppressive or charged, hunger appears as an easily dismissed sensation, growing awareness of or fixation on Sleep, develops repetitive habits that resemble rituals,finds comfort in darkness, quiet, or locations associated with Sleep.
๐ฆ Example of Mid Stage Succumbence: Daily needs are neglected or deprioritized, social behavior becomes skewed (clinging, isolating, demanding, or obsessive), interactions begin to feel transactional, symbolic, or ritualized; emotional regulation deteriorates, fungal blooms spread into hair, feathers, fur, or scales; early physical mutations or damage appear (nails loosening, skin splitting, texture changes), hunger intensifies and is no longer satisfied by normal eating, speech or thoughts about Sleep become deliberate or reverent, performs intentional rituals, often improvised or poorly understood; resists criticism or interruption of ritual behavior.
๐ฆ Example of High Stage Succumbence: Body and mind destabilize, severe physical symptoms may appear (fevers, fainting, vomiting, untreated injuries), behavior becomes unsettling or difficult to engage with, fungal discoloration thickens, forming a partial second skin and ugly blooms; clear mutations are visible (extra eyes, tongues, limbs, structural distortion), blood appears darker and thicker when spilled, social disconnect deepens (alienation, superiority, emptiness, fixation), hunger becomes constant and intrusive, worship shifts from belief to compulsion, interprets pain, mutation, or loss as communication or approval from Sleep, loses interest in non-ritual or non-Sleep related concerns.
๐ฆ Example of Succumbra (Offerings): total loss of personal identity, fully non-human, heavily warped form; black tar-like substance leaks from the mouth; white glow from eyes, mouth, and wounds; bursting fungal growths and/or tentacles from skin and orifices; strong camouflage or blending in darkness; driven by instinct rather than conscious choice; insatiable hunger focused on flesh; presence actively corrupts the surrounding environment.
๐ฆ Example of Succumbentia (Tokens): Magical output reaches critical mass and detonates (supernova event); physical form destabilizes rather than fully degrading; emerges in a new, corrupted form, often humanoid but distorted or symbolic; Identity fragments instead of vanishing outright; Creates a personal magical space called a Sanctum at the moment of collapse; Sanctum reflects the Token's magic, trauma, beliefs, or worship; Reality inside the Sanctum follows unstable logic, may be dreamlike; The Succumbentia is bound to and sustained by its Sanctum, generally they do not roam.
Some believe they can turn back, and few ever do. But! Strong Tethers between vessels can slow or even completely hold off Succumbence. The right bond, grounded in trust, memory, and shared will, forms a stabilizing force against Sleep's erosion. Some say a Convergence can even cleanse Succumbence entirelyโ for a while.
Succumbence is optional and player-driven. Your character will not succumb if you don't want them to, but the threat of Succumbence is always present, and signs of it may appear as a result of choices, stress, overuse of Ambient Tethers, or exposure to corrupted environments. Tethers and Convergences can act as lifelines. Forming these bonds with other vessels isn't just for emotional grounding— it might be the only thing keeping you from dissolving into the Murmur.
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