Wrote myself into a corner for one of my home games, and a team ended up horror-marked. They survived the experience, through fiat alone. (We're not going to explore what happened. At all. I'm only addressing moving forward and trying to write a solution into my game.)

Does anyone know of ANY canon lore about removing horror marks that didn't involve directly confronting and killing the horror? All I have are the 2e core book and campaign guide, and they say there's zero way it can be done, and that the marks can be renewed at-will (something I didn't initially remember when making this choice of beastie).

Renewed at will at a certain distance tough. But high enough not to be a real problem. I don't remember anything canon about removing a mark. I think, tough, that kaer's protection forbids the use of powers from distance so i guess they could seal themselves the time the mark expires to be freed of it.

I don't see why the PC beeing marked is such a problem (story-wise).

Indeedy. Remember to most big name horrors, the PCs are small fish. The question is, how is the horror going to use the PCs to kill competing horrors and strike at big-name characters.

well, unless it's a really really powerful horror, they could use space much the same way as a kaer.

Probably. It was a wormskull.

There is also the "Horror Stalker" from one of the splat books (sorry I don't remember the edition and I'm AFB ATM). They can take the Horror Mark on to themselves and then use it to track the horror. Even if the Horror Stalker no longer exists in 2e, you can use it as an NPC for the storyline, if you feel okay working it into your plot.

-D

They're still around as of 3E, in Name Giver's Compendium, p. 174. Not sure about the taking of the Horror Mark onto themselves, scanning my copy now.

Not exactly directly applicable for a 2E campaign, but it does at least suggest they should still be in one of the 2E books somewhere, and it definitely fits within the canon for the GM to have one appear as an NPC.

Edit - There's also a talent called Bear Mark that might be of some use.


~Umi

Umidori has the right of it. The only way to get rid of a mark is to kill the horror, die (which in some cases is just a new cadaver man), or some way the GM decides to make possible, on a one time basis (say a passion takes an interest in the characters).

My question is, is the whole party marked? If so I see this as a fantastic opportunity for you. Why would you want to get rid of it? Do they even know they are marked?

Also for all things Earthdawn go here http://www.fasagames.com/ Even if you are using 2nd Edition you are likely to get an answer from someone familiar with the product.

If you can't beat them, join them!
Worked out admirably for me... Until the group decided to show up before I could finish threading the blood artifact.

First, it's a D&D 4e game. After finding that someone had statted a wormskull already (here), I just had to use it. I figured it'd make for a nice recurring villain, someone they would have to work at undermining without directly confronting. Turns out it was a TPK, thanks to how I ran the encounter.

Everyone except the one PC who has a Dragonmark (it's an Eberron thing, if you're familiar with it) ended up horror-marked. It was off-the-cuff, but I just decided that horror marks and dragon marks didn't mix.

Why get rid of them? Well, there's the problem that I didn't do my research. I went and re-read the old wormskull entry, but I didn't read about ALL the effects a horror mark can have: auto-renewal, invisible and unknown, and the riders about how you can command, talk to, or harass anyone who ended up marked. Now, my players don't know half of these abilities. I could, theoretically, write most of them out... But they already know the damn things last a year and a day.

If it hadn't been for the TPK, at least one of the players was talking about going to ground and the game just halting for a year and a day.

I decided to showcase one of my favorite iconic critters from another setting... And it's ended up being me writing myself into a corner to just solve the TPK to begin with. And now I have a PC who wants their own dragon mark, but they're horror-marked, which means they can't manifest for at least a year and a day. The whole thing has been a fiasco, but I'm not the type of GM to load from a save point and call a do-over. I made this bed, and I've been trying to figure out how to lay in it.

So, yea, the core issue to solving my problem was, "Can this be done before the year and a day is up, without facing him down again? No? And he can renew it any time he wants, if he's within 100 miles? ... Sigh."

The Passion idea might work, though... I just swap "Passion" for "Soverign Host..." <goes off to read some wikis and get my rulebooks for ED out>

Why didn't you mention that in your initial posting? Dude....

Because it was a port of the creature from Earthdawn? I was looking for Earthdawn remedies I could port over in a similar manner. I wasn't looking for D&D solutions to an Earthdawn problem. (Yet.)

Well there is no option as to "going to ground". Feel free to railroad them. "I refuse." several minor skin shifts and a terror or two should have them willing to do whatever it wants. Otherwise have them off the one player not affected. Then the wormskull can make a cadaver man out of him to mess with the party more. I mean why be easy on them.

Now assuming they did not sign on for the whole horror theme and actual horror thing the "divine power" route is probably the easiest and least painful for you to follow.

Easiest solutions I can see.

1) Invoke GM Fiat, say that this particular Horror-mark is different because of Reason X, and thus it needs LoS to be renewed.
2) Introduce a Horror-Stalker NPC and invoke GM Fiat to say that this particlar Stalker can take the marks of others, because of Reason Y.
3) Introduce a Horror-Stalker NPC and have him recruit the team to help him slay the horror once and for all. (Turn it into an adventure, essentially.)

~Umi

I'd go with 3). Add the twist that the party might search for Pattern Items of the horror to give them a boost when confronting him.

4) Selling your immortal soul? Anyone? No?
*sigh* It's not like you need it anyway.

The problem with trying to side with the Horror is that you literally go insane.

~Umi

What's insanity but just looking at things from a different point of view?

I'd also go with 3).

i don't suffer from insanity.

i enjoy every minute of it.

I don't see why asking for RAW when you don't even use Earthdawn rules. Just pick a way that fits your game if you want them to get rid of it (Searching for a Passion, maybe a dragon or whatsoever).