User:GoldenYak/World's Heart/Accursed


 * "Many moons have passed since I left my old existence behind me. Since then I've tried to forget the terrors I beheld beneath the cold earth, and the twisted nightmares that have haunted my every waking moment. There’s something dark within me now; I can feel it, driving me towards the north, assuring me that my salvation lies within the ruins of ancient kingdoms. Though I know the way, I know not what perils will arise to hinder my journey, and as I pass through the first gate, I know that the better part of my soul will remain behind... forever." 
 * — Anon

The Accursed are those poor, lost souls who have been driven over the edge of madness by the evils of the world. Scarred by dark magics and darker tortures, they are no longer entirely sane, natural, or mortal. Some suffered from the taint of demonic corruption as the fel energies of the Burning Legion poisoned the land, seeping into their flesh and blood, clouding their mind and staining their spirit. Others languished in prisons and slaughterhouses raised by the Scourge and other undead, the subject of cruel and debased experiments, alchemical torture, or soul-tearing necromancy. Still others lost their minds in the face of the rise of the dark powers of the Void, sending them screaming beyond the jagged edge of insanity even as their flesh buckled and flowed into hideous, new alien forms. All of these broken souls have fled the light and taken solace in darkness, tormented by madness and pain, unable to find true respite. Their hatred of the dark powers that have scarred them make them too volatile for the forces of evil to manipulate, but there are few indeed who walk in the Light that are prepared to welcome the abominable. Only on the very outskirts of society can they find a place, haunting the lost and forgotten edges of civilization, waiting for some sign, hoping beyond hope that their torments might end.

An Accursed's form is forever changing, their flesh bubbling and mutating as the dark powers within shape and re-shape them into beasts and monsters. An Accursed can barely keep conscious control of their transformations at the best of times, usually isolating themselves so that no one can be injured should their control slip. In the midst of battle, Accursed often lose control completely, degenerating into hideous aberrations of fang, claw, tentacle, and burning darkness, rending and tearing the enemy until all are slain. Only then does a mote of reason return, and their malformed bodies revert to something more akin to their original form. To be an Accursed is to fight a constant battle against a soul-devouring evil that has taken root in one's very flesh, knowing that the day may come when the battle is lost, and a new and dreadful monstrosity is born into the world.

With the rise of the dark powers from beneath the world, many of these lost creatures have felt some force, something deep in their battered, twisted souls, urging them to seek out and destroy the fiendish creatures and wicked mortals who have embraced the same dark arts the Accursed loathe. Slowly but surely, the Accursed of the world make their way north, skulking by moonlight through brush and wilderness, hiding by day within wagons or in cargo-ship holds. As if drawn by some unknowable signal, the Accursed are slipping out of the shadows and converging on Northrend.

Class overview
The Accursed are mortals who suffered terrible tortures from the worst of the dark powers on Azeroth. They are former prisoners of the Scourge, victims of the Twilight Cult, those whose minds and bodies were twisted by the fel corruption Burning Legion, and countless other victims of tragedy through dark sorcery, demonic worship, or invocation of the dread powers of the Void. They have been driven beyond sanity by the torments they endured, their bodies twisted by wicked magic, wracked with mutations and hideous malformations. They can no longer be called entirely mortal, and only some spark of their former selves, some glimmer of a noble soul buried deep within their tortured forms ensures that they do not become indistinguishable the very evil that destroyed them. Instead, the Accursed turn all of their ferocity and savagery on the wicked of the world, ferreting out magical corruption and dark cults and ripping them apart with their bestial ferocity. Other than this one, overriding impulse to destroy the wicked before they can bring greater harm to the world, the Accursed are little different from the most vile of demons and aberrations, and each one walks a fine line, knowing that any day the last of their control could slip, and they become truly nothing more than another monster.

An Accursed's body has been subject to all manner of dark magic, and their tortured flesh has become twisted and mutated as a result. Their bodies are covered in mutilations and mutations, scars and distortions clearly visible. An Accursed is wracked with pain, constantly shivering and spasming as their body turns upon itself, perhaps even visible transforming before the eyes of any shocked, disgusted onlooker. An Accursed's malformed features are perpetually twisted and snarling, pain and anger the only expressions evident on their scarred visages.

The Accursed bind their bodies in whatever they find, driven to cover their mutated flesh from sight. Scrap metal, leather, and cloth are woven together, sometimes even attached to protruding bone and spine. Some of the more lucid Accursed uses locks and heavy chains to bind their makeshift clothing and armor together, the thick links occasionally serving as a means of keeping their unstable bodies from growing out of control through mutations.

An Accursed's body is a nightmare of twisted flesh saturated with the darker energies of the cosmos. Their flesh has become like a lodestone for wickedness, drinking in and metabolizing dark power. An Accursed may burn with the demonic energy of Fel, seethe with the dreadful power of Decay, or may act as a vessel for the malefic darkness of the Void. By giving in to these powerful dark energies, the Accursed can transform their bodies into various twisted, monstrous forms, each one suited to a different means of unleashing carnage.

Key Features

 * Dark Transformation
 * The Accursed can transform into various monstrous shapes, each one different, all of them together granting the Accursed unrivaled flexibility in combat.


 * Hound Form - Transforms the Accursed into a feral, quadrupedal best with vicious attack speed.
 * Mutations
 * Accursed can alter their physical forms to produce various mutations, each with different strengths. Developing a powerful array of mutations mid-combat can mean the difference between defeat and overwhelming victory.


 * Vorpal Talons - An Aggressive Mutation, the Accursed that develops this mutation will ignore a portion of the target's armor, increasing their damage.
 * Multiple Roles
 * Depending on which form and power an Accursed utilizes, they can fulfill close combat roles, batter foes from a distance with dark sorcery, or withstand the strongest of enemies as resilient walls of flesh.


 * Fiend Form - Transforms the Accursed into a withered, ghoulish spell-caster form that can dissolve the enemy with deadly magics from a distance.
 * Double-Cast Effects
 * A number of the Accursed's abilities have additional or different effects when re-cast in quick succession. These effects are situational, and may come with an additional cost as well. The wide variety of options adds to the Accursed's combat flexibility.


 * Doom Sphere - When cast, conjures a sphere of dark energy floating overhead that will pursue a single target and deal damage to them when they are nearby. For 5 seconds after casting, the spell may be re-cast, which causes the Doom Sphere to drop to the ground and explode, dealing a burst of damage to all nearby targets and spilling dark energy onto the ground that will damage any enemies standing in it.

Races
All the races of the world have known sorrow and suffering. An Accursed can come from any race.

Background

 * "I have heard the whispers for as long as I can remember. They have been my constant companions, sharing secrets with me, secrets that I wish I could forget, things that I wish I could tear out of my mind, along with the whispers themselves. They have always been there, but they have grown quieter of late. There is another voice now, a new voice. Deeper, more... profound. It comes from far below. It tells me to go north, to go down, down into the dark below. It tells me where to find them, the ones I must kill. I'm so tired... so tired I want to die. But I must heed the new voice. It is so vast, so terrible... The other whispers, the ones from before, the ones that are quieter now... they're afraid of it. ...I am too..." 
 * — Anon

The Accursed are not an organized faction, nor truly a recognized discipline of combatant or spell-caster, like the paladin or the warlock. They have no leaders, no representatives, and very few links with the more civilized world. They are the lost and the damned, souls too broken and scarred to ever return to ordinary lives, united only by the common manner of their suffering and affliction. They have passed through insanity and come out the other side, living a shadowy existence in abandoned towns or the most destitute of undercities. They scavenge and scrounge for what little they have, scraping an existence from the forgotten outskirts of civilization. Most lead solitary lives, shunning even their own kind. Only when one senses a trace of dark power, be it from a cult of Void worshipers, a rogue warlock bargaining with demons, or a renegade necromancer disturbing the spirits of the dead, will the Accursed leave their secret places and hidden lairs and creep out into the world, accepting the company of others. They will stalk their quarry like blood-hounds, sniffing out traces of dark power until they find their prey, and then unleash the hideous power seething within them. When nothing is left of their victims but rags of cloth and smears of blood, the Accursed's anger and hatred will subside and they will slink back into the darkness.

It has been this way for centuries throughout all the civilizations of the world. From humans who lost everything to the Scourge, to orcs suffering from the taint of fel blood, to even ancient night elves who encountered some horror in the deepest, darkest reaches of the wild, there have been those driven to madness as their flesh warps and changes from the touch of evil. But some lingering sense of the person they once were still holds fast in the depths of their spirit, and though they have been scarred by evil, evil does not truly rule them.

In the recent age, the power of the Void has risen to ascendancy in the cosmos. In that blackest, most unknowable realm, the Void Lords grow in power, yearning to devour all the realms of the Light. Their gaze has fallen on Azeroth, and the powers of darkness grow strong. Demons gather. The Shadowlands spill forth their necromantic energy. The Void beckons. This conflux of dark energies has driven the Accursed of the world to unprecedented activity, and as more and more mortals fall under the sway of the darker powers, more and more of the Accursed are at work in the world, the monstrous defenders of a world that will never truly accept them, even if they desired to still be a part of it. Sightings of the Accursed are on the rise, with many of them seemingly making their way to Northrend. They stow away on-board ships and in the holds of zeppelins, or creeping along ancient underground tunnels. Slowly but surely, a small army of these broken creatures are making their way north, where the dark powers are strongest, down in the darkest reaches of the earth.

It remains to be seen whether the Accursed will, ultimately, be ally or enemy to the world...

Appearance
Unlike most classes, Accursed characters will come with special visual customization options. Their malformed bodies are twisted and covered in mutations, and the underlying nature of these will change depending on what specialization an Accursed utilizes.


 * Fel Mutations - demonic horns, fel blood, spines, bulging muscles
 * Decay Mutations - withered flesh, plague blisters, exposed bone, rot
 * Void Mutations - tentacles, multiple eyes, fleshy-growths

Accursed are tormented beings, unhealthy and monstrous in appearance. They do not stand tall and proud like other races, but are hunched over, shivering and twitching as their bodies are wracked with spasms. They sometimes cry out, snarl, mutter to unseen voices, or giggle manically at random moments. You can never be certain how an Accursed will act, at times quivering and weeping for no reason before leaping about wildly and howling like a mad dog.

Starting experience
The Accursed are a Hero Class and have a unique starting experience, similar to death knights and demon hunters. It is shorter than either previous hero class, rapidly giving the Accursed an overview of their capabilities before sending them into the main storyline.

The Accursed starting experience takes place in several small regions reserved for them, beginning with the Blighted Moorlands, and unknown region of the world, a place of tainted forests and mutated beasts. The Accursed are gathering in these tainted woods, drawn by Void-worshipers and their dark rituals. A mysterious voice compels them, lending some measure of sanity, a whisper that is at once soothing and frightening, coming from some vast, unknowable power hidden deep within the darkest depths of the world.

The Accursed are then led through ancient caverns and tunnels to the Aqir'za Underway, a series of aqir-built tunnels beneath the surface of the world. The Accursed slowly be surely make their way through the tunnels, emerging in the land of Northrend.

Specializations
Like most classes, Accursed have 3 specializations: Fel, a melee damage spec, Decay, a ranged damage spec, and Void, a tanking spec. All Accursed have access to three different transformations - Brute, Hound, and Fiend. They can use all of these transformations at will, though each specialization has a specific form that will see primary use, while the others forms may be adopted temporarily.

Fel
Accursed who use the power of Fel channel demonic energy to rend asunder their foes with savage fury. The Hound form is the primary shape an Accursed will take.
 * Brute Form - A hulking monster resembling the mo'arg.
 * Hound Form - A bestial creature resembling a felhound.
 * Fiend Form - A withered shape resembling an inquisitor.

Void
Accursed that wield the power of the Void become alien aberrations with unnatural resilience, able to absorb punishment that would slay ordinary mortals. The Brute form is most suited for this power.
 * Brute Form - A slithering creature resembling a n'raqi.
 * Hound Form - A vicious canine-like beast made of the living darkness of the Void.
 * Fiend Form - A spindly abomination resembling a merciless one.

Decay
Accursed tainted by the powers of Decay summon dark sorcery and dreadful afflictions to destroy the enemy from afar. The form of the Fiend is the one that the Accursed will most readily adopt.
 * Brute Form - A brutish a grotesque resembling an abomination.
 * Hound Form - A rotting beast resembling a skeletal wolf.
 * Fiend Form - A fleshless fiend shackled in chains akin to the lich.

Abilities

 * Shamed and defaced
 * Scathed and disgraced
 * Tainted by hatred
 * that can't be erased...
 * — Lament of the Accursed

Accursed use Eldritch Energy as their resource, though depending on what form they take they will utilize it in different ways. Accursed can also use the secondary resource of Mutation Points to fuel different mutations. Mutations Points are built up as an Accursed uses his different abilities - Mutation Points are then consumed in various ways to produce different beneficial Mutations that enhance the Accursed, and can even grant benefits to their allies.

Class Abilities
All Accursed automatically learn the following spells and abilities, regardless of specialization.

 

Specialization Abilities
The three Accursed specializations are Fel (melee DPS), Void (tanking), and Decay (ranged DPS).

   

Talents
 

Monstrous Forms and Mutations

 * "This flesh is not my flesh! This face is not my face!" 
 * — Anon

The Accursed can change their shape in a variety of different forms suited for different types of combat. Depending on their specialization, the Accursed will have one primary combat form, and can temporarily adopt the others during combat for a short time. Out of combat, the Accursed typically adopts their mortal form, though they can freely enter their alternate forms if they desire. When entering combat, the Accursed instantly changes into their primary form, whatever their previous form. When changing form in combat, the Accursed reverts to their mortal form and then shifts into their monstrous state over the course of 2 seconds. The Accursed suffers from greatly reduced movement speed while transforming in combat and cannot use their abilities until the transformation is complete.

Form of the Brute
The Brute form is the Accursed's most resilient form, that of a powerful creature with supernatural stamina. This is the primary form of the Void specialization, which mutates the Accursed into a hideous, hulking alien grotesque. Brute forms increase the health and defensive power of the Accursed, improving healing and reducing damage done to them, allowing them to absorb a great deal of punishment. When used in the Fel and Decay specializations, a Brute form grants slightly less defensive power than in Void specialization, and also reduces mobility, but can enhance certain offensive and utility abilities. While using Brute form with the Decay specialization, certain abilities that have range and cast-time become melee ranged and can be cast instantly. Brute forms generate threat with their primary Eldritch Energy generating ability - Savage, Mangle, and Wither.

Form of the Hound
The Hound form is the Accursed's melee combat form. This is the primary form of the Fel specialization, which transforms the Accursed into a savage, quadrupedal beast form. Hound form improves movement and attack speed, but renders the Accursed more vulnerable to damage. When using Hound form in Void, the Accursed loses much of their defensive power, but gains increased mobility and offensive damage, and can be useful to inflict damage on an enemy in situations where an Accursed can reliably avoid taking damage themselves. When using Hound form in Decay, certain abilities that have range and cast-time become melee ranged and can be cast instantly.

Form of the Fiend
The Fiend form is the Accursed's spell-casting form. This is the primary form of the Decay specialization, which transforms the Accursed into a long-distance spell-caster. When using Fiend form in Fel and Void specialization, all offensive capabilities gain a range of between 15 and 40 yards, and some abilities gain a casting time of between 0.5 and 2 seconds. The Accursed takes increased damage while in Fiend form. The Accursed will also passively generate Eldritch Energy while in Fiend form.

Mutations
When using Eldritch Energy, the Accursed builds up Mutation Points - 1 Mutation Point is produced for every 75 Eldritch Energy consumed. An Accursed can have up to 4 Mutation Points. Mutation Points are used to cast the Accursed's three mutation abilities - Aggressive, Incubating, and Malignant. The first two abilities cost 2 Mutation Points each, while Malignant Mutations cost 3 Mutation Points. An Accursed can have one mutation of each type active at once - new mutations of one type will replace older mutations of the same type.

Certain combinations of Mutations trigger a Mutation Synergy - all current mutations are removed and a single buff combining all of them is granted. This allows Accursed to obtain new mutations, though any new Synergy they acquire will replace an existing Synergy. Not all Mutation Synergies are beneficial - some negative Mutation Synergies can occur. Negative Synergies cannot be cleansed like ordinary debuffs.


 * Aggressive Mutations
 * Vorpal Talons - The Accursed will ignore a portion of the target's armor, increasing their damage.
 * Eldritch Venom - Damaging attacks place a stacking Eldritch Venom debuff on the target. At 5 stacks, the debuff is consumed and deals a burst of damage to the target.
 * Infested Flesh - Auto-attacks have a chance to spawn Vilespawn, which will attack the Accursed's primary target and are immune to AoE damage. Void-specced Accursed can consume Vilespawn to heal with the Vile Swarm ability.
 * Metabolic Boost - Increases attack and casting speed.


 * Incubating Mutations
 * Spellbreak Hide - Reduces the damage the Accursed takes from magic and reduces the duration of most negative magic effects used against the Accursed by 20%.
 * Regenerative Pustules - The Accursed grows fluid-filled pustules across their body that have a chance to burst when they take damage. A bursting pustule will heal the Accursed.
 * Thickened Skeleton - Increases stamina and reduces physical damage taken.
 * Enhanced Reflexes - Increases the movement speed of the Accursed and grants them a 10% chance to evade damaging attacks.


 * Malignant Mutations
 * Potent Regeneration - Grants the Accursed health regeneration and periodically grants them Eldritch Energy.
 * Eldritch Blood - Damage dealt to the Accursed will be spread to nearby enemy targets.
 * Parasitic Flesh - The Accursed's tortured flesh develops a life of its own, and a hunger. The Accursed's auto-attacks heal them.
 * Adrenaline Glands - Increases both movement and attack speed when the Accursed deals damage. Stacks to 3.


 * Syngeries
 * Monstrous Vitality - Grants bonus damage, reduces damage taken, and grants health and Eldritch Energy regeneration. Positive Synergy from Vorpal Talons, Spellbreak Hide, and Potent Regeneration.
 * Abyssal Blood - Gains the effect of Eldritch Venom, Regenerative Pustules, and Eldritch Blood simultaneously. Positive Synergy from the aforementioned abilities.
 * Hive of Horrors - Basic attacks produce Vilespawn that heal the Accursed when they deal damage. Also grants increased stamina for every active Vilespawn. Positive Synergy from Infested Flesh, Thickened Skeleton, and Parasitic Flesh.
 * Killing Machine - Greatly enhances attack, casting, and movement speed. Positive Synergy from Metabolic Boost, Enhanced Reflexes, and Adrenaline Glands.
 * Bone Spurs - Increases damage dealt but also increases damage taken by the Accursed. Negative Synergy from Vorpal Talons, Thickened Skeleton, and Potent Regeneration.
 * Maddening Tumours - Grants the Accursed increased healing but also causes periodic damage over time. Negative Synergy from Infested Flesh, Regenerative Pustules, and Adrenaline Glands.
 * Tortured Flesh - Prevents the Accursed from changing shape or acquiring new mutations for a short time. Negative Synergy from Metabolic Boost, Spellbreak Hide, and Parasitic Flesh.

Glyphs

 * "I was not always a monster..." 
 * — Anon

The Accursed can make use of the following glyphs to modify the appearance of their abilities.


 * Glyph of Tragic Illusions - The Accursed can use this glyph to retain their mortal appearance when changing forms. All of their abilities and actions remain unchanged, but they will not appear to change form when using their Transformation abilities.

Gear
Accursed are able to wear cloth, leather, and mail armor, with mail armor being their primary armor type. Armor is represented on Accursed as ravaged and broken, bound to their bodies with chains and padlocks.

Accursed can equip fist weapons, one-handed axes, and one-handed maces.

Trivia

 * Accursed are all fucked up...
 * Inspired by werewolves (the messed up tormented kind, not worgen who seem cool with it), Primordius a little bit, the Daemonhosts from Warhammer, the Abomination from Darkest Dungeon, and other such wretched creatures.