Karteria is a monster transformation game that deals with psychological horror, body horror, and the exploration of the self and how characters respond to an ever-changing world. For a full introduction, please check out the dedicated premise page.

Applications are open for the last week of every month. Reserves are open three days before. For more information on what's required for both, please consult their respective pages.

Karteria allows fictional characters; no real life people may be played, unless it's a character based on a historical figure that deviates far enough from the original person (such as Artoria Pendragon).

We do not allow duplicates. No fanon AUs. Canon AUs will be judged on a case-by-case basis.

Malleable protagonists are welcome. They must be as close to the default version of that character as possible visually and personality-wise, if such a representation exists. There is a limit of one per each malleable protagonist. Canon characters are not required to recognize a malleable protagonist as "the" protagonist they're familiar with. Use common sense: avoid headcanon relations with other canon characters unless previously discussed.

Characters with limited roles in their story/limited canon information will also be judged on a case-by-case basis. We embrace the fleshing out of characters who may not have every last detail written on paper, but there must be adequate material for the character to be played.

Before apping from a brand new canon, a recent season drop, an expansion, or otherwise, please wait two months. If it's a serialized canon, please give the same two months before applying for any new characters or for any canonpoint. (There's no problem with incorporating newly learned information about characters though, such as where a character grew up or what their favorite food is.)

Yes, characters can be taken from a post-death canon point. They will feel worse for wear depending on how they died, though. A character who was blown to smithereens... That's a lot of restoration work! They'll feel really awful. Don't die like that again, you hear?

OCs and canon OCs are welcome! OCs from canon settings must be mostly or completely unrelated to any of the main cast of their setting. For example, we won't be accepting an application for Princess Peach's long-lost princely brother who has no basis for existing, or who would impose on anyone who wished to play Princess Peach.

CRAUs are also welcomed, with just a bit of extra information required to detail their development in prior game(s); see Application for more information.

Memories possessed by CRAU characters won't be accessible for a minimum of one whole month. It is up to you if they feel the inkling of something missing, or any déjà vu. You may also tailor how many of their memories of their previous game(s) return, and players may elect to make it difficult or impossible to recall certain elements. Use common sense about previous CR: make sure you clear with other players any potential knowledge your character might have of them, and respect boundaries. Your character can conveniently forget certain memories, explained away by the toll of all that interdimensional travel they've endured....

In cases where a character's usual form is either nonexistent or unwieldy, you're welcome to 'humanize' them into a more convenient shape. Artisanal bodies don't come cheap, but the Patho-Gen team is willing to put in the effort to ensure your character's soul has appropriate housing.

While you are also allowed to 'humanize' them and give them some sort of more organic humanoid body, you're also entirely welcome to leave them exactly as they are.

Patho-Gen requires a sort of "soul" to snag a person from another world. Thus, when attempting to gather a person who lacks a soul of any kind... Somehow, they've devised a tool to collect the essence of a character from another universe. This is them in their entirety, turned into a dense pocket of energy and placed into the body they inhabit: they will possess all thoughts, feelings, memories, everything that makes them who they are!

Of course, the little interesting bit: all of this energy requires being tied to the body it comes from. So: your character basically has two Augmenters! Don't feel too proud of that, because it doesn't enable them any more power than anyone else. It just means that they probably have another, different piece of tech inside of them... somewhere. Who knows where. Patho-Gen staff won't be able to explain that one.

Make that 109! Patho-Gen treats such characters with the same Augmenter technology, even if the argument might stand that their soul(s) should be robust enough to withstand the environment's arcane radiation. They remind all Augmented that the Augmenter does more than just imbue them with a Natural Soul.

Test drives will occur every other month, and will incorporate the major event of the month. Threads that happen during Test Drives may be considered game canon unless specifically requested by a player or if noted in a player's top-level. All TDM threads, no matter what, may be used as activity check proofs.

Short answer: if you wish it. It would suck to play out a juicy scenario only to have to disregard that thread.

As we start to go into future TDMs, Patho-Gen will explain for all characters that those who arrive for their Initiation might not stick around. It's for the same reason that some characters drop: a connection between soul and body may be brittle, and in these cases Patho-Gen will collect the un-apped character in the setting. There is nothing other characters can do about this, obviously because there's no way to force an un-played character into the setting. Sorry...

Even if a character is vigilant about another character, there is nothing that will stop this retrieval process of a character either un-apped or dropped. Force will be unnecessary as well, as Patho-Gen can simply use the presence of the Augmenter to knock characters out. Feel free to have your character experience this, question how Patho-Gen could locate them, how they could force them to pass out... Patho-Gen Is Your Friend!

As the months have passed, Patho-Gen has received increasing pushback for the ability to knock characters unconscious (performed through a small 'clicker'-like object—presumably acting in concert with the Augmenter inside each character). While the more sympathetic side of the company is doing its best to limit the use of this tool, the collection of unapped/dropped/deceased characters is most easily done by rendering their bodies inert.

If the soul you've picked for a TDM ends up being different from what you choose to go with on entering the game proper—there's no problem at all, and you're free to handwave away the discrepancy.

Once you've apped into the game the character's Natural Soul is considered set, and is more difficult to change. However... sometimes there's a problem with the soul sticking. It might be due to a faulty Augmenter (Patho-Gen will deny this), or a miscalculation on the manner of soul that would best suit your character (Patho-Gen will also deny this). In any case, the character will feel increasingly ill, struck by fevers and dizziness far worse than anything they experienced on arrival. The longer they've had their original soul type, the worse things go. Whether they voluntarily turn to Patho-Gen, or pass out somewhere and are carted unaware to them, the conclusion is the same: their body is rejecting the supplied soul, and requires a replacement. This surgery will occur whether or not the character has the chance to agree to it.

On waking up: any powers acquired from the previous soul type are immediately lost. Any physical changes (fur, feathers, claws, etc.) will linger, but will become increasingly mottled, worn, dull—and in some cases, even infected and gangrenous, as the body rejects and is sickened by this now-foreign material. Whether they require another hospital stay at the end of it or not, the character will eventually flush out their old changes—while simultaneously becoming corrupted by their new Natural Soul.

OOCly, players can change their character's Natural Soul once. Just let the mods know what your updated pick is, and you're set. If you want to swap out again, you can use 400 points to do so.

Activity check is due at the end of the month but can be turned in at any point, and has a requirement of five comments of any medium (prose, brackets, whatever). Additional information can be found here. Ultimately unrelated to AC but there are also rewards for keeping track of more.

Turn all your work (threads) into treats(?). Because everyone deserves a little treat now and then.

Karteria operates on a 1 IC day/1 OOC day ratio.

One way or another, it's sad to see a character go. For matters of character death, their soul will become inert, passive, while their Natural Soul takes absolute control. If the body is still capable of movement (not dismembered or otherwise fragmented), they are likely to resort to a full transfiguration, and will be violent, terrified, or both. To get anywhere from here, they will require subjugation. There are revival procedures in place, but they largely depend on the condition of the deceased, and how quickly their body is recovered....

(OOCly: yes, characters can be revived. Their Soul Augmenter needs to be recoverable, and preferably as much of their body as possible. If you're looking for your character to die please contact the mods so we can work out what might happen.)

In the aftermath of revival, however, the corruption of a character's soul will be significantly advanced. The behaviors of their soul type will be harder to deny or ignore, for a period of at least one month—with some impulses likely to persist for longer.

For drops, a similar mechanic occurs. For unknown reasons, a character's soul can become... detached from its host prematurely (suspected to be due to a faulty Soul Augmenter, but the engineers behind their design deny this). Their body remains in the setting, completely taken over by their Natural Soul—just as occurs during death. Units will be dispatched to pacify and collect the wayward body, where it will be kept within Patho-Gen facilities for safekeeping. It is possible for other characters to see this happen!

If the same player wishes to re-app a dropped character, they can choose to pick them back up from this... storage. Looks like that faulty Augmenter was fixed, somehow—or they somehow recollected that same wayward soul, and placed it back into its old, half-changed body. A new player picking up a character previously dropped will start from scratch with a fresh body and untainted soul—the same as anyone else. That old body probably still exists somewhere, though!

There is no choice made. There is no warning, nor anything so kind as a jolt. Only normalcy, and then—a void, a darkness and emptiness beyond that of sleep. Or death.

Characters will awake disoriented, in a clinical setting, with nothing but the clothes on their back and a pain in their neck. As soon as they're mobile and coherent, they'll be escorted to a more comfortable auditorium where they'll be given an overview on their situation, alongside other new arrivals. They will also be given a phone, and instructions on how to use it to access the basics of Karterian society (as well as how to access a specially made Augmented-only channel). They'll additionally be provided directions to a temporary housing option—the Valentia.

Never fear. Characters will be healed of all ailments prior to arrival, mostly. If they're gravely wounded they'll probably feel pretty awful for a while. There may be faint scars left on their body from wounds forced to heal.

As for their clothes... For some reason, Patho-Gen doesn't care about restoring those. The clothes they're wearing at their canon point will be delivered to their temporary quarters at the Valentia in the next seven business days, preserved in their wretched condition! For now, characters will be provided with... something to wear, coupled with some plain black loafers should your character need it. It looks like graduation robes, and the hat is optional. This just seemed to them an esteemed outfit for their honored guests to wear, no?

The Soul Augmenter will be inserted elsewhere, somewhere difficult for a character to remove and which seems similarly vital to survival. No team in Patho-Gen is familiar with the physiognomy of every foreign-borne entity (to the contrary, this is an entirely new field!), so their best guess might not be the most accurate one—but for more effective attunement, the Augmenter needs to be placed somewhere brimming with life.

Thus, if your character falls under this category... pick another fun spot for an incision! Your choice.

As part of their orientation, characters will be informed of being fitted with a 'Soul Augmenter', and may still be feeling a generalized discomfiture as a result. While the counselor will be apologetic about this surgery performed without your character's awareness—they'll stress that time was absolutely of the essence.

In addition to its primary function of containing the soul of another entity, it also contains an element to help characters adapt to the world's particular energies. Without it, the character would die within minutes or hours—of this they are regrettably certain. As an unfortunate side-effect, characters may note a dulling of previously sharp senses—a dwindling in magic or superpower. With any luck, the abilities granted by their implanted soul type will make up for it.

To learn more about Soul Augmenters, check out its dedicated section.

Then they will almost certainly die. (Or be rendered into a state incompatible with existing.) Please check the death section for more information on what happens on any demise. You're still welcome to try, of course, and the consequences are bound to be... informative, for anyone watching. (If your character does elect to go this route, please let the mods know so we can cover what happens with them.)

Somewhat. Rather than outright nerfing all characters to nothing, the implanted Augmenter has the effect of blunting native abilities. Some simple, or relatively harmless skills might escape being dulled at all. In practice, should an ability be considered particularly hazardous, or trivialize the setting—there are likely to be limits to its functionality.

For characters who are attuned to their powers, or otherwise very conscious of that sort of thing, they might notice/feel that all of their abilities are there, the wellspring of their power present with them in the world... but just not properly accessible. It's like a badly clogged drain; only a fraction of their potential can make it through at a time.

Character powers are naturally exceedingly varied, so it'd be impossible to properly summarize what is and isn't dampened, and to what degree. Of course, if you'd prefer your character to be harshly nullified in their native powers, you can choose to lean heavier in that restriction. Alternatively, if your character has some ability or trait that you feel is crucial (or makes playing them more enjoyable or interesting), this allows them to maintain it to some degree.

Any magic or enhancement they gain through their Natural Soul should still be stronger than what they arrive with, and will feel far easier to use (as they'll be able to call on the whole of 'themselves', rather than a sad dribble).

Naturally, the people of the Isles of Pathos speak a different language from Augmented characters. Through dedicated effort (and some amount of trial and error), the Augmenter placed within characters includes a feature that imparts fluency of the local tongue.

Characters still know, and can choose to speak, the language(s) of home—but they'll have a hard time communicating with anyone not from the same world!

As suggested by the name, a Soul Augmenter contains... well, a soul. Referred to as a Natural Soul, it is the essence of some manner of beast, plant, or arcane entity captured and distributed for personal use. By attuning to this soul, a person can gain its characteristics and abilities.

Use of Natural Souls doesn't normally happen in Karteria, though it's not unknown to its people. There have been past studies into this field (so thankfully most of the flaws have been ironed out!), and the technology remains carefully regulated for the societal good.

Improved strength, speed, sight—control over the elements, an unnatural luck, or the ability to charm both friends and foes... is that not reason enough to try tapping into one's wilder side?

For a more sober reason: Orexis—the island the city-state of Karteria calls home—is not the safe haven it once was. While a magicked barrier surrounds the city and largely filters out the worst of the pollution tainting the land and air, this is a solution neither perfect nor ideal. But when one has taken on the properties of a Natural Soul—transforming their body into something widely considered monstrous—it provides a certain amount of protection.

This makes player characters the ideal group for forays outside Karteria's walls! Learning more about what's causing this worldly decay is hard to do when you can barely step foot outside without risking illness!

While other cities have existed, communication between them and Karteria has fallen to nothing. Recently, some connection with the neighboring island of Eparsis (and the city of Kelesis) has been made—thanks only to Augmented efforts. Because of arcane radiation, only the Augmented have the capacity to travel freely between the two cities. The condition of the remaining major citystate of Enochlesis is an unknown, but widely presumed to be worse—given that nowhere on Pathos comes close to Karteria when it comes to both grandeur and ingenuity.

And for those more inclined to stick close to 'home', there are opportunities within the city only open to those with particular non-human attributes. ...Not that everyone in Karteria is comfortable with the help (or the sight) of those deigned beastly—but that opinion can't change without a few good examples!

To see how the Karterian people currently view the Augmented, one can check the Reputation page. It is updated every other month, based on player-submitted summaries of their character's actions.

A corruption of the host's soul, and permanent disfiguration of their body. To put it more positively, a character will notice "changes" to their physical appearance and mental state. The development of fur or feathers, the shedding of nails and teeth to make way for claws and fangs, the growth of craggy protrusions or scales. You know. And while a voluntary transformation into one's fully ascended form is largely painless—and increasingly comfortable, the more one indulges—developing these permanent growths is... not.

Merely living with a Natural Soul close to one's own will cause them to influence each other, and is unavoidable. Using the power of the Natural Soul speeds up that process greatly, but it's inevitable for even those who abstain as much as possible. For the full rundown on what Natural Souls are and do, check out their dedicated information page.

The short version is... they've tried. Due to everyone having been bathed in arcane radiation for decades, Karterian bodies these days inevitably reject these souls capable of resisting it. Or rather—the added soul tears apart its host as it attempts too vigorously to 'cleanse' it. Newcomers lacking in this pollution are therefore free of this unwanted spiritual immune response. Refer here for more about the Augmenters and the prior Augmented.

Patho-Gen has named it arcane radiation. It is a magic-born illness that corrupts the soul and ruins the body—all the way into death, if untreated.

Direct contact will both burn and dissolve skin—organic material reacting as though coated in a mix of sticky fire and acid. Even if the source is removed, the damage will continue to eat away at the victim's body for some time—and deeper, tearing apart the energies that comprise a person's soul. The visible, persistent damage appears as blackened boils, which spread across the surface of the body as it's torn apart by it. Even a small amount of direct damage like this is lethal.

But more insidious is the damage caused invisibly, merely by breathing in tainted air, or existing on tainted soil. Headaches and nausea are the earliest and mildest symptoms, followed by dizziness and fatigue. Hallucinations are soon to follow—accompanied by an unshakable sense of dread, paranoia, and mild paralysis of the limbs. Temporary blindness may also occur. Parts of the skin may swell and develop peculiar boils, black and prone to weeping. They appear gangrenous, but are not the sign of any condition that can be aided by removing the offending part (though a person can easily be struck down by other infections taking advantage of their host's compromised state). This is not a plague; as a single mercy, arcane radiation is not contagious.

At this point, the effects are still reversible. But if an unprotected human persists on this course, multi-organ failure and soul dissolution will follow, along with impulses both violent and terrified. It's at this stage that the corruption is thick enough for the blackened boils to cover a significant portion of their body, dripping a substance worse than blood or pus. They are excruciatingly painful to be touched, and the sheer agony of persisting in this state is known to fuel the victim's terror. For as long as they're capable of movement, a poisoned entity will attack any living thing on sight, clawing and biting at them until subdued. There is no recovery possible at this point, their only relief a swift death.

Going outside Karteria's borders isn't immediately lethal, even for an unprotected human. But they will begin to feel ill effects within hours, and will sustain irreversible damage within 24-48 hours exposure. Any longer than that at once is lethal.

The damage is, additionally, cumulative. Merely returning to the protection of Karteria's barrier won't erase contamination, and the generally accepted guideline is that an hour of exposure requires a week of cleansing. Fortunately, anyone with a Natural Soul implanted has far less to fear from this radiation, as even once symptoms begin to appear (the mildest taking days to a week to manifest), their hardier constitution allows them a greater ability to heal. Those weeks of exposure time can be recovered in a few days (Carnivoras, and their advanced regeneration, have a leg up here). Golems and Spectral-types are considered practically immune, given their largely inorganic (or already dead) compositions.

With the addition of imprints, a character's resistance to arcane radiation increases drastically. Being in direct contact with the source of it remains quickly lethal for most soul types, but the ambiance becomes something that much easier to shrug off.

Its origin is the misuse of a particular mineral dubbed Katalyth. Its potential as a source of energy has been known for nigh on a century, and once the right tools were made to harness it, this arcane rock became the clean, practical replacement in most industries. Sure it was dangerous, but so were the things it was replacing—such as oil or coal. And unlike the latter, Katalyth grew in nature, though the exact mechanics of how or why remains an unknown. Katalyth is abundant, doesn't require destructive mining practices, reappears—and the amount of 'radiation' initially given off from its use was minuscule. It was perfect—until it wasn't.

Almost 25 years ago now, a militaristic faction from the island nation of Lupê—jealous of Karteria's prosperity—attempted to wield Katalyth-backed weaponry against the city. Mercifully, their designs came to naught, but only due to the bravery of informants on the inside, allowing Karteria the opportunity to develop countermeasures. This was the birthplace of the Augmented—who on this occasion were Karterian volunteers.

It was classified information at the time, but the government and Patho-Gen became aware then of the concept of arcane radiation: the consequence of forcing Katalyth into an unstable state, combined with its use at a heretofore unseen scale.

Due to their discovered resistance to arcane radiation, it was largely the work of Augmented volunteers who ventured to Lupê, determined to end the disaster before it began. Though they were ultimately successful, it came at a price—as the severe concentration of the already-released toxin felled those who survived the barrage of traditional weaponry.

Recognizing their immanent doom, the Augmented worked desperately to mitigate the impact of what Lupê had created. As they destroyed the remaining bridges between Lupê and the neighboring isle, the last known communication from the island was a plea for Karteria to endure. ...Yet despite their sacrifice, the Katalyth-infused weapons already made couldn't be disarmed safely or completely—and while Lupê was forced to take the brunt of what it had once hoped to inflict on others, the other islands of Pathos were not spared the fallout.

The exact mechanics for how the poisoning has spread to the other islands is unknown, but thought to have something to do with air currents. As it stands, even places without known outcroppings of the arcane mineral are unsafe to remain in. And in the quarter of a century that has passed, the effect has only gotten worse, rather than better—contrary to all expectations.

Officially it is not, Karteria falling back onto its more traditional sources. Public opinion has turned against Katalyth, for one thing—no politician would risk their career even suggesting that there might be ways to use it safely. Arcane radiation has touched too many lives, and left all of them poorer for it.

Whether it can be used safely in the world's current state is an unknown—but what few tests Patho-Gen has managed to conduct in the area suggest that it cannot. Arcane radiation does result, and in amounts considered hazardous, adding to the catastrophic poisoning the world is already enduring. If Katalyth had a tipping point, Lupê upended the whole scale and stomped on it.

Unofficially... it's harder to say. Katalyth was a common material before the war, and though the government and Patho-Gen did their best to collect all traces of it, it's possible that some may have slipped through the cracks.

It has since been discovered through Augmented ingenuity(?) that the Syntrofos themselves (the phones everyone uses for everything) contain a minute amount of Katalyth. This is understandably not publicly known.

It has also recently come out (January 2026) to the Augmented that Katalyth is used to power the Karterian barrier—the very thing that keeps the city alive and largely protected from its radiation.

It's possible that there's more sources of Katalyth in the city than these. Has Karteria really stopped using it at all?

Goodness, no! That's what the barrier is for! Anything outside the barrier (but within Karterian territory), well... of course it's growing there. But no one has seen a trace of Katalyth appear within Karteria proper once the barrier was erected.

Katalyth will still function (and cause radiation sickness) if it's brought in from the outside—that much is known. If a character spots any within the city, it's either a leftover from the past, or the result of some illegal activity. In either case they should definitely report it!

Worse. Rather than quietly exist in its safe-enough-to-approach (if not to touch!) form, it's believed that all growths of Katalyth in the world are perpetually... agitated. By merely existing they give off arcane radiation—which is why Karterians are forced to remain inside their barrier, lest they become sicker than they already are.

As a mercy, large concentrations of it—which manifest as distinct rocky outcroppings—are easy to spot, and not terribly difficult to avoid. And with enough protection, they can even be relatively safely harvested—and removing it from the wilds would certainly make traversing it easier for everyone.

There is additionally a page dedicated to Katalyth, where more information can be found.

Patho-Gen (and maybe eventually Karterians at large) certainly hope so! One practical thing they would beg Augmented assistance with, is in locating those pesky Katalyth outcroppings.

Orexis may be an island, but it's not a small place; it's both inefficient and too dangerous to ask normal humans to go out searching in the detail that's required (especially since an area that was cleared one day, might have new Katalyths growing in it the next...). But the Augmented can travel with less fear!

Patho-Gen does not ask the Augmented to risk themselves attempting to harvest the mineral themselves. What they do request is for the Augmented to use their Syntrofos to report any and all sightings to them immediately. They've even streamlined the process with pre-made forms, everything submittable in the press of a few buttons! Once submitted, a team from Patho-Gen will be sent to safely extract and secure the sample. With their time spent outside the barrier made minimal, environmental cleaning specialists are able to do their job safely—and it's all (potentially) because of you.

If altruism isn't enough to stir your character into action, there is a monetary reward for each unique verified sighting. It's one way to make numis, and all you have to do is hike around an irradiated landscape.

But that's just one thing... depending on what's going on in the city at any one time, Patho-Gen, or the everyday Karterian (possibly through the help of an Augmented-friendly guild called the Velvet Claw) is likely to have other requests. There has also been a dedicated attempt towards farming, something that's of vital importance to the survival of the city.

Does all of this justify the cost of bringing strangers into the world and turning them into beasts? Patho-Gen would claim yes, but the official lines about inspiring hope, and finding a path forward... it's all rather vague, isn't it?

It is a connection made between two hearts, and an unlikely meeting of the native and the Natural Soul.

Characters who come into voluntary physical contact for a modest amount of time may imprint on one another. The first sign that this has occurred is an overwhelming sense of peace and tranquility between the pair. Though it will dissipate once contact is broken, a lingering sense of familiarity will remain in each participant. And with that familiarity, a modest amount of favorability.

The more time spent in meaningful company with this person—and especially in some sort of physical contact (handholding, hugs, up to and including sexual contact)—the more characters will imprint upon one another. With it comes a deepening sense of trust or attachment towards the person they've imprinted upon.

Characters will come to feel a greater sense of safety or belonging when in the company of their imprinted partner. They will be drawn to seek them out, and too much time apart might trigger restlessness, irritability, and dread. Additionally, their physical health may improve, wounds are less likely to become infected, and their inevitable soul corruption might be a little easier to bear. Out in the field, arcane radiation will also have a harder time impacting an imprinted duo!

This attachment is likely to take a more bestial bent the further it develops. Characters may snarl or hiss at anything that threatens their imprinted partner. They may even be provoked into Shifting outside of their control in order to defend the object of their affection. On the less threatening side of things, characters will also feel inclined towards expressing their attachment through social behaviors such as grooming, scent marking, and the like.

Imprinting cannot be forced. Tying two foes together will not guarantee that they will come out of it friendlier towards one another (unless they bond over a mutual dislike of the experience...). You cannot tie your crush to you and have them imprint on you.

The physical contact that begins the process has to be voluntary, and both parties have to not be repulsed by it.

Which is not to say that Patho-Gen hasn't tried. On discovering the existence of imprints, the company has become fascinated by them. They have performed multiple tests, from the largely voluntary and seemingly harmless, to the cruel. For characters who have been repeatedly caught performing violent crimes (or simply resisting Patho-Gen's work to the point of becoming a threat to it), they may find themselves on the receving end of an 'imprint'... to Patho-Gen itself.

Unlike a normal imprint, this kind seems to fade on its own over time—for now, at least. It's a new field of study, after all.

Not at all! Characters are encouraged to have as wide a pool as they can! They'll need the support of a reliable in-group to survive the difficulties of this strange new world.

At the deepest end of imprinting comes the phenomena of pair bonding. Characters who have pair bonded may experience one another's emotions as their own, and will 'feel' it should either of them fall into danger.

While there can be a modest imbalance in attachment when it comes to imprinting (i.e, one half is adoring, the other merely friendly), pair bonding has to be an equal partnership! Both parties must be earnestly and honestly committed.

In addition to sharing moods and a preternatural sense for the other's safety, the pair may also take on one another's physical traits. A change in hair color, or eye color—even an altering in height. Their native magic (what they can use of it, at least) might also be influenced by their partner in some way. The options depend on the characters involved!

However, these changes are only drawn from a character's original self and not their Natural Soul. While the Natural Soul seems to be influencing the direction of bonded/imprinted behaviors, it seems to be the characters' true selves ultimately at the heart of their connection.

Possibly. But for those with a Natural Soul inclined towards mating for life, it will be more difficult for them to take multiple partners this deeply. Conversely, more promiscuous Natural Souls will have an easier time pair bonding with a group.

As this is a powerful connection to make with another person, please pair bond responsibly.

Should one half of a pair bond die, drop, or be otherwise unreachable, the survivor is likely to be inconsolable—or maddeningly furious, depending on the circumstance, and their personality. They may react with irrational, uncontrollable violence, or become catatonic. This doesn't mean the bond breaks—to the contrary, as its persistence is what drives this outcome. Emotions will settle somewhat over time (and far sooner in cases where the pair can be reunited—such as revival from death), but characters may become permanently prone to outbursts in the same vein as their original expression of grief.

Physical changes in the remaining party will also remain, even when their partner has dropped, but there will be no further development.

For imprinting, the consequences are less severe, but depression and physical aches will occur for some time, as they're being denied the company of their partner indefinitely. The deeper an imprint, the worse these effects.

Yes, though not through death, disappearance, or extended imprisonment. But should the characters have a significant falling out, a pair bond might shatter. This severely hurts both parties when it occurs, to the point of temporarily immobility. All of their senses will be muffled, dulled near to nothing, and will only begin to return to their base levels over several weeks. Any connection to their pair bond is immediately severed, and any physical change will bleed from them in the coming days. This reversion is incredibly painful.

For cases of imprinting, the consequences are not anywhere near so severe. The characters will feel sore, generally agitated, and prone to greater impulsivity as their emotions settle. Being around the formerly-imprinted party in future can trigger feelings of wariness and even aggression.

It is not! This is an entirely new field, an unexpected bonus(?) that Patho-Gen had not anticipated... and they would love if you told them as much as you could about it. (It has been through them that these names for these experiences came about.) As noted above, there have been multiple tests on the phenomena, with varying amounts of ethics involved. One such experiment demonstrated the creation of energy between imprinted partners—and far more than they anticipated, in some cases (which led to the distinction of 'pair bonding'). Could this be harnessed?

And while it's clear that the Natural Souls are influencing these connections, and the direction of certain behaviors—they are not the origin of them. Something else is impacting the characters' souls themselves.

Fishing has naturally been a part of Karterian life, even from the early days. The bounty provided by the sea has dropped significantly in living memory, and for a time longer even than the advent of arcane radiation. Prior industry—the heavy use of coal and oil—polluted both sea and air, and the district called Water's Edge was naturally the most impacted. While fishing remained an important mainstay, seafood itself largely became a food of the poor, seeing it as dirty as the harbors it was fished from.

The discovery of Katalyth turned the corner on that part of Karterian history, providing clean energy, freeing them from the shackles of dirty industry. (Not without some turmoil and controversy, of course; those who made their money off of coal and oil weren't happy with the switch. It's not public knowledge as to what deal was brokered with the richest families—but they shut up about it, after surprisingly little fight.) The coastal waters were cleaned up, but the prior abundance of fish didn't return.

Of course, with Katalyth not being the perfect solution once promised, a return to the old ways feels inevitable. The water is considered a dangerous place, with unknown quantities of Katalyth growing somewhere in the seabed. Even so, fishing persists, yet despite attempts to rehabilitate its image, seafood remains associated with the poor, and the coastline with filth.

Extending from ground level and curving into the sky above, it follows the outline of Karteria's border. Bolstered by towers built at regular intervals for purposes of redundancy and reliability, the barrier has been maintained ceaselessly since its conception. While the details of its construction and maintenance are highly classified, it is described as a filter for the harmful effects of arcane radiation.

It is largely transparent, and blocks neither sun nor rain. Wind becomes muted as it is filtered through the layers of protective spellcraft, leading to a feeling of stagnancy upon city streets, even when the air is as clean as it could be. At night, when the moon is full, the barrier becomes more translucent, a hazy shape that distorts the stars above—an eerie sight, and one that the locals consider bad luck to gaze on for long.

Recently (January 2026), one of the pillars at the north side of the city became non-functional, and caused fluctuations within the barrier. This has been the first instance of any problem with the protective structure. While the barrier did not fall, there was citywide alarm at the failure of one pillar having an effect at all.

While the ailing structure was repaired, it required Augmented intervention—which led to the discovery of the pillar being filled with Katalyth. While the situation had been caused by Katalyth growing uncontrollably, turning black and becoming even more potent, plenty of the mineral had been there for years. The pillars—and therefore the barrier—utilizes Katalyth in order to function.

There is indeed a singular moon! Both Carnivora and Spectral soul types will want to keep an eye on its movement as their powers are each influenced by its waxing and waning. For convenience's sake, the moon follows the same pattern as the one around Earth, so the dates of its fullness/newness follow the real calendar.

Stars are hard to make out with the light pollution offered by the city, along with the haze of the protective barrier. Far enough away from Karteria and the sky opens up... though you'd be hard pressed to find a familiar pattern up there. Wherever this world is placed in the universe, it's not anywhere close to home.

To do that you'll need a license, connections, a building (unless you're operating out of your home)... which isn't to say you can't achieve those things! None of that comes cheaply or immediately, though.

But with character reputation in Karteria having improved sufficiently, the government is now willing to issue licenses to the Augmented. Businesses can be submitted to the business page—and just look to the comments for a list of character-run establishments! Maybe you'll see something you'd love for your character to get involved in.

Of a sort, though they have drastically dwindled in number in recent years, as the poisoning of the island has worsened. Abandoned shells of former towns remain, their inhabitants having either perished, or given up their homes for the greater safety of Karteria's barrier.

Through Augmented exploration, the southwestern harbor town of Doxa was visited, and found to be fully abandoned, and reclaimed by the local wildlife. The northern town of Phantasia has also been visited, and found to have a few hundred people surviving there, under a less-effective version of Karteria's barrier.

But another holdout remains, stubbornly clinging to the old ways closer to home. This settlement (too small to even be labeled a 'village') lies not far from Karteria's walls. Their survival outside the city's protection depends on small, makeshift generators, which have been retrofitted to perform a similar feat as Karteria's barrier. Such devices used to be relatively commonplace when Katalyth was at the height of popularity (used then to create energy, rather than protect against it), and they're quite capable of protecting against a small amount of radiation.

A small amount, that is. And their radius is similarly limited. Any unaugmented person who chooses to live there is dooming themself to an early and unpleasant death.

They're also rumored to run off of Katalyth itself... 'burning' the fuel that in itself releases arcane radiation, to protect against it. (But given the discovery of Katalyth within Karteria's own barrier pillars—it would be hard to judge this as hypocritical.)