Eldritch

*T̩̬͍͎͇̰̂ͭ̿h̙̱̗͚̝̃͊͂̔̚͞e͚͈͇̹͛͗̔ͨͣ̈͟ ̠̼͖͎̘͇̀f̣̰̠̀o̢̰͎̺̩̺̤̻̓̍ͦ͌ͭl̸̯̖͕̭̽̓́͛͐ͅḽ̲̮̣́oͦ̅ͩ͗w͔̟̞̹̯̆̎ͤi͖̭͟n̟͖ͣ͒͂̓̾͟g̑͠ ̜̠̗̺̹̟͆̒ͥ͋̇ͪ͂͜ṕ͍̪̱̄͐͘a͉͖̺̖͇̰ͨ̔̈ͨͧ̂̕ġ̔͒̓̽e̞̹̩̓̄ͣ̀ͪ ͙d̦̔ͮ̂͒͊͂i̭͎̱̘͓̇͂̾s̎̄̏c̘̣̣u̠̞͇̜ͭ̈́ͬ̚͡s̶̞͒̑ͥs͈̳͎̥̪̦ͦ̐͛̔̇͒e̸͇͑ͩͧ͗̄̽͂s̷͙̯̳̜̹̯̀͋̾̿͗ ̲͙̦̘̂ͨ̑m͉͔̩͍ͩͩ͞a͔̦ͨt̢͎͚̫t͇̥͍̪̺̫͖̄ͨ͑e͖̦͈͊ͥ̓̈́ͣͨ͝r̺͖̼̓͒̏̐s̚ ̟̱̱̖͈̓n͙͉̙̠͕̊ͩ̇͜o͈͆͂̌̓͌͌͟t̷͎͎̬̞̼ c͆͂́̔̌om͓̫̝̭̼͎͉͆̈́͝ṕ̿͆̉̌̕r̶̜̭̝͚̜̦ͥ̊ͬ̐̿e̷̋ẖ̞͖̋ͭ̈́ͧe̶̱͉͇̜̯ͅṅ̙̤̲̘̫̉͒ͯͮ͘s̪͌̈͋ͨ̓͢ỉ̺̜̥̬̈͆̓̍͝ḇ̧̜͖̩͋́ͫͣ͑̇̈́le̶̹̫͔̘̓̀ͮ͆ ̙̩͚͙̟͉̄ͭ̒ͩ͑b̊̓͏͍̣̩̬̦y̖͉̻̐ͤ̿ͦ ̩̜̦̯̲ͫ͗̔̀s̨̎e͚̭͈̪͗̀ͬͪͨn̩͖͕̻͕͙ͪ̓ͩ͛ͬṫ͔͇̹̹̣i͗̈ͮ̄ͩ̐ͨè̑͏̥̖̫̠̤͕ͅn̫͈ͦ̈́t̲̰̝̠ͮ̔̉̓̆̍ ̫̖̠̼̘̫̺̈͠m͖̼͕̓ͦͩ̏ͯ̈́i͕̤̮̪̦̞͔n̶̩͉͊͐̈d̠͓̻͉̩̣ͣ͊͆̃ͣͩs͙͑̅ͣ̽ͤͦ̎͞.̣̯̜̪̊ͪ̐̎ͪ͠*

*Our universe is dark and empty, a few tiny specks of light amidst an infinite abyss...*

**Eldritch** is a term used to describe a broad group of interdimensional, alien horrors whose existence blights our world. Their presence is most concentrated in an ancient, corrupted swamp far to the West, and since many of them feast on magical energy or the spiritual material that makes up souls, they occasionally find their way to Cosmic Academy looking for food.

If they have greater motives, these appear to be totally unknowable. If they even have sentience or intelligence, it is of a nature quite different from our own.

They are creatures that don't seem to belong in reality. Beings that disregard the common laws of physics and logic. Much of their powers have to do with warping existence. The most common is having the ability to capture both themselves and their prey into their own pocket dimension. The only way for the victim to escape is to destroy the beast, which will collapse the dimension and drop them back to our reality.

Some speak their own unique language. In the roleplay, this is designated by very twisted text, such as that at the top of this page.

Aesthetically, there are a few things that commonly define the Eldritch, though most of them don't have all of these features. It's common for the creatures to either have no eyes, many eyes across its body, or a single huge one. Many of the creatures also have many mouths. Gibbering Mouthers are a perfect example. They're most famous, however, for having tentacles. These can often be used both for physical damage and the dissolving of a soul if they can grasp it. Similarly, the mouths of many of the Eldritch can emit terrible screams that temporarily disable magic.

Common powers include the use of a pocket dimension, ignoring the traditional rules of gravity and physics, using telekinesis and telepathy, teleportation, directly attacking souls, shrieks that temporarily disable magic or technology, dodging attacks by moving in a fourth spatial direction, manipulation of matter, and causing great amounts of stress just by being in one's presence. While eldritch items don't attract life forms like Holy ones do, nor repel them as Unholy ones do, they bestow a sense of hopelessness in those capable of feeling such an emotion.

Connection to the eldritch is rare. There are a few characters who have it, and the result is typically to be shunned for it. Even at Cosmic Academy, those who've been here for a few years haven't forgotten the Incident when a horde of creatures of such a nature descended on all three campuses at once, taking many lives from two and utterly unmaking the third. These characters often pay terrible costs when they try to dip into forbidden sources of power... And they don't even get to be auto-OP for it. Turns out madness doesn't make you a very good tactician.

Similar to Holy and Unholy, Eldritch is a modifier that attacks can have, which may have particular effects on opponents as a result. It's not easy to choose a similar example of "compared to normal fire of the same temperature, hellfire deals 50 increased damage, increased to 100 against the Holy" like we can for the Unholy modifier, since Eldritch isn't really a property that can be so easily slapped onto other attacks. Some features that many eldritch attacks have in common include slightly increased damage in general, some component of added psychological damage from an attack, involving a strong randomness component, or bypassing damage reduction of any kind. (Your pieces of metal on your chest won't save you, your magical protections are as futile as your hope.)

### **A Note on Player Use**

So, the use of eldritch power is a delicate matter in the out-of-character sense. The point of the Eldritch is how unknowable and seemingly illogical it is. We want to be conservative with its application, or else it essentially loses its mystique. The Holy and the Unholy don't seem particularly impressive because plenty of characters have access to them, and we're okay with that given the nature of the RP. However, the eldritch are meant to be an important plot element—a constant, invisible threat always lurking in the background, rarely at the forefront. They are the force of our inevitable doom, not a personal power to seek out for coolness points.

There's little point in an uncontrollable force if lots of people can control it.

Usually, Ulysses will be the one to talk to if you're interested in your character picking up an item or technique connected to them. He's usually pretty conservative about giving permissions for it out, and this is especially rare to be the case for a character to start out with. Generally it would have to come later. Part of it depends on the admins having faith that a character creator is an effective writer and grasps the genre they're dipping into depicting. (That particular restriction is usually for characters who actually start out as tainted. Those who gain it later aren't held back by the same necessity, though it is still desirable.)

Also remember that if you choose to learn eldritch stuff, that's time which is coming out of time you could have spent improving your character in other ways. Eldritch powers can be devastating, but the goal is to avoid overpowering characters using them. They are strong, but they are risky, and in the time it took to learn them you also could have learned any normal stuff with your kinesis which might be just as effective or give you more versatility. This is to say that just like any other form of upgrade, this kind of power can be considered a boost compared to what one had before, but choosing it as opposed to any other possible upgrade is still an opportunity cost to be weighed against them.

There will come a time in the future when everyone will have the option to dip into this stuff, likely as a result of Cosmic Academy's second-last formal event. Or, you could discover the opposite force, just as holy and unholy stand as opposites of one another.