Warping Crystals are powerful and deadly Tolgethic magical artifacts discovered in ancient ruins. These dangerous artifacts emit a field of psionic energy that progressively weakens the mental and eventually physical faculties of any living creature in proximity, ultimately transforming victims into Warped monstrosities. It is believed that they were left in the ruins by the ancient Tolgethics as a defense against grave robbers, in a similar vein to Necrospheres.
Warping Crystals typically resemble large shards of Aether Crystal and are observed to emit a pulsing blue light.
The magic field given off by the crystal slowly weakens the mind and body of any living being in the vicinity. Symptoms typically begin with a gradually intensifying headache which survivors describe as throbbing or pulsing, progressing to blurred vision and loss of coordination, auditory and visual hallucinations, slurred speech, seizures, and eventual loss of consciousness. Prolonged exposure causes victims to reawaken in a violent, aggressive state in which they attack other living creatures on sight, showing little to no signs of awareness of their surroundings. At this stage, the affliction is generally considered incurable, as the victim retains no sense of self and continues to attack living targets until subdued or killed.
Complete recovery is generally possible if the artifact is destroyed or the victim is removed from its vicinity before loss of consciousness occurs. The speed of progression appears to relate to the physical distance between the subject and the artifact. The effects do not seem to be impeded by walls or other solid objects. Some cases documented by Torchlight researchers show agents were exposed to a warping crystal's effects for three hours at a great distance and only experienced a mild headache, while other case files describe victims becoming fully "warped" in as little as 45 minutes. Potions which enhance the drinker's mental abilities have been shown prevent or at least slow down the onset of symptoms.
Continued exposure to the crystal after the mental effects have fully taken hold gradually causes grotesque physical mutations which vary from subject to subject. The most common sign of warping crystal exposure is a bright yellow color to the iris of the eyes, which in some cases can even be seen before the mental deterioration has fully taken effect. Other documented changes have included massive muscular growth in the arms and legs, the development of webbed feet, elongated canine teeth, and extremely heightened senses and fast reflexes. Torchlight collectively refers to these beings as the Warped in research. If the victim was a human with magical powers, in some cases, the resulting Warped will also retain the ability to attack with magic, making them particularly deadly.
Torchlight Society field agent protocols provide a description of the Warped to all agents entering active ruins. Agents are instructed that there is no hope for recovery of these beings, and that they should be killed on sight. The presence of Warped is a definitive sign that a Warping Crystal is present somewhere in the ruins. Any sightings of them, or any agent experiencing the telltale throbbing headache, should be reported immediately and all further exploration stopped until a special task force can locate and neutralize the crystal.
Jacques Bellefontaine may inform the party that multiple Warping Crystals were once found in the Pewter Mountain Ruins, but all known specimens were removed years ago and now reside in Base 11.
The party can encounter a Warping Crystal in the Oar's Rest Ruins, along with the results of its effects. A party of young, inexperienced explorers had previously gone missing, and in fact had wandered into the ruins and been overcome by the warping crystal's effects. After fighting off the Warped and/or locating and destroying the crystal on the dungeon's third floor, the party has a chance to subdue and revive Mariah Harris, the least severely affected member of the party and the only one who can be saved. If the party does so, Mariah offers them crucial information about the ruin's puzzles and can be recruited as a companion.
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