Monster Manual

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Rift Blight

Monstrous disease

Threat

The Rift Blight is one of the greatest horrors known to the world. Whether it is a disease, curse, or something far older remains unknown. Rather than spreading through blood or touch, it resonates with the leylines within a living being, slowly replacing their natural mana with the power of the Rift. Unlike any known affliction, it has claimed humans, beasts and even constructs alike.

The first stage begins with subtle symptoms: glowing veins, an unnatural warmth beneath the skin, fatigue, unstable magic, and repeated reports of strange visual effects involving the victim’s own shadow. Although no independent observer has ever confirmed these events, the number and consistency of these reports suggest they are common early signs of the Blight.

During the second stage, the afflicted hear a constant rhythmic hum known as the Hollow Pulse. Their emotions fade, concentration deteriorates and whispers begin to fill their minds. Their crystalline veins become visible, their blood fully transforms into glowing blue mana-rich blood and those nearby often experience exhaustion as the Blight begins drawing mana from its surroundings.

In the third stage, victims become Crystalborn. Crystal erupts through their flesh, twisting their bodies into monstrous forms sustained by stolen mana. Their minds collapse, memories vanish and they become little more than instinct-driven creatures. Wherever they travel, crystal spreads, wildlife is corrupted and the land itself begins to change.

Rift Blight Symptoms

Rift Blight Treatment

No cure has ever been discovered. Every documented attempt at purification, magical intervention or alchemical treatment has failed. As a result, the Guild enforces a strict containment protocol: all confirmed victims are to be executed before the Blight reaches its final stage and a new Rift can be born.

"I have dissected beasts, studied the afflicted and watched constructs lose themselves to the same corruption. Flesh, steel, and stone... it matters not. The Blight claims them all with an inevitability that no prayer, potion or spell has ever delayed. It does not kill in the way ordinary sickness does. It replaces, slowly erasing what once was until nothing remains but the will of the Rift.

The evidence has become impossible to ignore. Every expedition uncovers the same crystal fields where victims once stood, and every newly formed Rift appears where the Blight reached its final stage. If our theories are correct, then the Rift is not merely destroying life... it is using it to create more of itself. Every Rift may once have been a living soul.

Some of my colleagues insist the endless hum within a Rift is nothing more than resonating mana. I have stood beside enough of them to know better. Sometimes, when the wind falls silent, I could swear I hear voices beneath it."

Scholar Notes

The Shapeless

Unknown Creature

Threat

The Shapeless are small, ravenous creatures with no uniform shape save for a few traits. They pose little to no threat to adventurers, being little more than a nuisance that may attempt prodding bites if one comes too close. Regardless, arms of the guild are still instructed to keep a keen eye for these creatures, as they may be an ill omen for the rifts they come from.

These creatures are typically found scavenging near rifts, though they can uncommonly be found away from their rift bound habitats. They seemingly emerge from pools of toxic, tar like sludge that are secreted from the edges of a rift.

No one shapeless will be exactly the same as another, even from the same spawning pool. Though they lack a uniform appearance, they do have common traits. Shapeless are roughly the size of a large house cat or a small dog, they are inky black in coloration save a secondary bioluminescent color. They lack eyes and typically possess dozens of needle like teeth.

Shapeless are relatively harmless pests on their own, that tend to eat carrion and vegetation, though any animal small or weak enough to be preyed on will be eaten as well, such as small birds and rats. If left to their own devices, and given enough time, the Shapeless will eat through an entire ecosystem.

When sighting shapeless near a rift, the guild advises them
to be exterminated. If they are found in large groups, they
are advised to be exterminated. If the Shapeless are found alone, far from a rift, the guild would authorize it to be captured and taken for study

Sightings

Guild Orders

Scholars Notes

Physical Traits

"I have dissected fourteen specimens now, and I cannot confidently state that any two shared the same internal anatomy. Organs appeared where none should be, or were simply absent. I have ceased attempting to categorize them under a uniform biology. The greatest danger of the Shapeless is not the creature itself, but the question of why it exists. Vermin do not simply crawl from tears in reality only to scavenge table scraps."