The Curse of Decent

For those that travel The Great Sky Highway the Curse of Decent is ever present in their minds. No telling what will occur when they finally leave the high branches of The Great Tree. Many have come away completely unscathed with nothing more than a little exhaustion, still others have lost their minds, bodies and in some cases their very souls. The descent from the Great Tree is not to be taken lightly for it is always a gamble and you may not leave as you came in.

"Amongst the towering branches of the Great Tree, where sunlight filters through the dense foliage, lies the perilous Descent. A journey into the heart of the cursed abyss, where explorers brave the unknown depths. It is said that with each step downward, one becomes entwined with the tree's ancient curse. The hazards that befall those who venture forth are as treacherous as they are mysterious. Each twist and turn unravels the fabric of reality, testing the courage and resilience of those who dare to face the shadows lurking below. The Descent from the Great Tree is a dance with fate, a treacherous path that both beckons and threatens, promising untold wonders and unfathomable dangers." - Evelyn Sylverwood, Black Seeker before her final journey up

Cause

The Great Tree can be separated into 4 rough layers, and it's the decent from those layers to a layer below or into the city proper that seems to trigger the curse, if it can be called a curse as some of the effects can be beneficial to the right person. Whatever the case the cause is always the same ascend to any layer of the Great Tree within its leaves or upon it's bark and upon returning, if you return, the curse will trigger sending you sprilaling down a path of potential madness and body modification.

Symptoms

Descent from lower levels is mostly mangeable a slight headache and a bit of exhaustion, unless you are truly unlucky as people have been known to be completely out of action as a result of the exhaustion setting in. Broadly speaking the higher you go in the tree the worse the curse becomes with the very highest layers almost always resulting in death or severe disfigurement though no one has ever reached the very top of the tree in the entire history of Arbor... it always seems somehow just out of reach. The symptoms are so varied though that they simply cannot be listed here every change is new and no 2 are identical suffice to say any trip up must be met with caution and the knowledge that it is unlikely you will be coming back as you are.

Mechanics

For the purposes of using this within the setting of Arbor as it exists within D&D below are the rules for implementation
The Great Tree is split up into 4 sections Brown, Green, Black, and Blue. Descending from one to the other triggers the curse of the layer the player came from and any other layers they might also pass through and into on the way down. For example someone falling from Blue all the way to the floor would experience the effects of all four. Notably players roll two saving throws one for Constitution and one for Charisma consulting the tables below.

Brown:

DC is equal to 15

	Con	Cha
Fail	1 level of Exhaustion	Poisoned for 1 day
-10	2 levels of Exhaustion	1 Roll on the Minor Mutation Tab

Green:

DC is equal to 18

	CON	CHA
Fail	1 level of Exhaustion	1 Roll on the Minor Mutation Tab
-5	2 levels of Exhaustion	1 Roll on the Major Mutation Tab

Black:

DC is equal to 20

	CON	CHA
Fail	2 levels of Exhaustion	1 Roll on the Major Mutation Tab
-10	3 levels of Exhaustion	2 Rolls on the Major Mutation Tab

Blue:

DC is equal to 25

	CON	CHA
Fail	2 levels of Exhaustion	1 Roll on the Major Mutation Tab
-5	3 levels of Exhaustion	1 Roll on the Extreme Mutation Tab

Treatment

No known treatments have been effective in altering that which has been altered or restoring what has been lost. Powerful magics simply fizzle out and even the greatest technologies seem to offer little hope. In fact even replacing limbs seems to be impossible as the host always rejects the new limb and instead when regenerative magics are applied the mutated one grows back

Cultural Reception

The people see these marks in one of two ways.

1. The marks and changes are a sign that you are blessed by the tree, this tends to be the older folks who still worship the Great Tree. They see the mutations simply as a sign that you are devoted to the Tree and that you should be helped and aided should the be needed.
2. Pity, for those changed drastically into misshapen forms unable to even end their existence there is naught but pity for them. Their existence is suffering and they should be mourned because what is left is not who that were any longer.

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Uncommon