Exhumation

Perversions

Quote

"The nethermost caverns are not for the fathoming of eyes that see; for their marvels are strange and terrific. Cursed the ground where dead thoughts live new and oddly bodied, and evil the mind that is held by no head. Wisely did Ibn Schacabac say, that happy is the tomb where no wizard hath lain, and happy the town at night whose wizards are all ashes. For it is of old rumour that the soul of the devil-bought hastes not from his charnel clay, but fats and instructs the very worm that gnaws; till out of corruption horrid life springs, and the dull scavengers of earth wax crafty to vex it and swell monstrous to plague it. Great holes are digged where earth's pores ought to suffice, and things have learnt to walk that ought to crawl."

-- Arkham's Olaus Wormius Low Latin version of the Necronomicon

Introduction

Exhumation in its most litteral sense means to dig something up, usually a dead body, from the earth. For the Gallu, a vile species of undead corpse eater this term has a more complicated meaning. Exhumation is a Perversion, or a supernatural set of powers gained through association with dark spirits.

The perversion of Exhumation concerns itself with unhallowed earth allowing the Gallu who employ these powers to manipulate the soil of old battlefields, graveyards and places of mass murder. Its important to remember that there are few places left on the Earth that have not been tainted with human burial or mass slaughter.

Given the aforementioned, there are three limitations to the perversions of Exhumation, the first is untainted nature. Some regions still remain pristine without having been soaked in human blood and death, these places of untouched wilderness are shrinking with the passage of centuries and mankind's continued expansion, but in such places the perversions of Exhumation are all but useless.

The second limitation is solid stone. Earth fused with fire, in other words stone, is a barrier to the perversions of Exhumation. The exception to this rule are the Chthonian Claws which can dig through stone, but can only do so at half-speed. Solid stone can be circumvented a number of ways including the use of blunt force, a manual workforce, explosives or by just by avoiding it altogether. Elements of the earth refined by fire, i.e. treated metals, are also immune to the effects of Exhumation, but can be clawed through slowly. Solid stone not fused with fire like limestone or chemically manufactured materials like cement do not inhibit the perversions of Exhumation.

The third and final limitation to Exhumation is sanctified ground or holy ground. No perversion of Exhumation will function on sacred soil. And despite the lurid implications of the Penny Dreadfuls it takes more than simple desecration to remove the sanctity of a cemetery or churchyard. However with the advent of the modern era secularization of graveyards has grown in popularity as faith has declined and this movement has made it easier for the Gallu to expand there territories within modern metropolises.

As with all the Perversions, the potency of Exhumation increases in steps, and begins with simple information gathering in thr form of profane divination and proceeds by arming the Gallu with aggravated claws, then allowing for the summoning of items from unhallowed soil. Eventually the Gallu may tunnel through the earth at walking speed and even learn to teleport from one grave or graveyard to the next, bypassing solid stone and holy ground altogether.

● Interrogate the Earth

At the core of all Gallu motivations is hunger, for the flesh of mankind be they living or dead. But the Twice Damned have other needs as well like shelter, resources, and information. The perversion power called Interrogation of the Earth provides for all those needs and more. Simply explained, the interrogation is a bit of corrupted geomancy, a divination that reveals what the soil of a plot of land contains. Of course the earth, even in a corrupted state, is repulsed by the vile touch of the Gallu and responds in a somewhat violent manner by trembling and shaking at the touch of so corrupt a being.

The Gallu begins by choosing a plot of land and scooping up a handful of loose soil and clenching his or her fist tightly, squeezing the dirt and concentrating on feeling through the earth for what is hidden within its dark embrace. Utter concentration is required and the Gallu cannot engage in any other activity while divining what lies beneath. This assault on the earth, this vile probing, brings on tremors in the earth that cause the soil to vibrate, small rock to skitter around and for dust to rise in a mild haze as a consequence. The interrogation is not subtle and even the supernaturally unaware notice something out of the ordinary is happening.

If successful the Gallu learns what if anything a plot of land contains, to what degree it is unhallowed, if there is solid stone below and its contours, if there are foreign objects hidden therein, if there are structures within and their basic depth and shape, the consistency of the soil (sand, clay, loam, mixtures of rock, etc) and if there are corpses hidden there and what type of animal life is hidden there if any.

System: The Gallu expends a point of Willpower and rolls Perception + Occult difficulty four.

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●● Unearth the Spoils

Gallu at this level can

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●●● Chthonian Claws

The claws of a Gallu are filthy, steel hard, and capable of moving large amounts of earth quickly. This ability how Gallue are able to essentially drill into the earth and hide from the sun, and access the dead who are buried. A gift of the demon Damu, the Gallu is able to dig quickly into the earth and shift the soil essentially back into place. A very observant and interested party could locate where a Gallu has went to ground, but they would only find if if Aware of the magical world around them.

System: Activating this Perversion power is a free action, but it takes a full turn to take effect, and the player must spend one point of flesh - either Caro or Putro.

If the Gallu expends a point of Caro to manifest the claws then not only are they aggravated damage but they also exude venom which triggers paralysis. Mortals may not soak damage inflicted via the claws and lose one point of dexterity for every level of damage taken. If the mortal's dexterity reaches zero that person is paralyzed. Wounds inflicted by the claws never fully heal for mortals and leave horrible scars.

On the other hand, if the Gallu expends a point of Putro to activate the claws

Wounds inflicted by the Chthonian Claws do Strength +1 dice of aggravated damage.

the Gallu rolls Strength + Athletics difficulty depending on the state of the ground. Clean, pristine ground would have a difficulty of 9, where a battlefield would have a difficulty of 4.

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●●●● Burrow the Unhallowed

The Gallu is able to

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●●●●● Cemetary Walk

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