Curse Magic

This Page is an extended Page from the Magic Page, discussing the finer details of Curse Magic. Curses, Hexes, and Charms are a form of "delayed magic," meaning when a Mage casts a fireball spell, it is considered "instant" magic, where as soon as they cast the spell there is an explosion of fire. Delayed Magic delays the activation of a spell until a certain condition or time is met, and then activates. A curse, then, is a delayed spell with a long term effect on a person depending on what they do. For example, cursing someone so that the next time they try to drink a glass of water, they spontaneously combust. There are two kinds of Curses:

Limited Curses: The Curse only effects one singular person, until it times out, or until they die, wherein the curse ends.
Unlimited Curses: The Curse effects one person, but can be passed on to any number of people, via touch, or another mechanic, and can even pass on to the cursed person's children.

Only Gods, Spirit Sovereigns, Dragons, Arken, and beings of those levels can apply Unlimited Curses, most Mages (including Player Characters) can only ever apply Limited Curses onto people. There is a loophole to this, when it applies to lesser Spirits, wherein if a Spirit possesses someone they can act as an Unlimited Curse, meaning for as long as they're possessing them, it applies, and they can pass this "curse" on via their possession. For both kinds of Curses, a Curse will remain for as long as it was meant to, or until the cursed person dies. The Mage who does the Cursing does not have to be alive for their Curse to persist, even killing someone immediately after they curse you will not remove the curse. However, only skilled mages can create long-lasting curses. The vast majority of Mages can only cast Curses that last for a few months, but even this is plenty enough time to ruin's someone's life or kill them. The limit of Curse application is based on Magic Investment, but only for Planar Magic (Void/Exist/Ordial), God Magic is not potent enough to Curse others:

2 Points in Magic: Maximum 1 Hour Curses.
3 Points in Magic: Maximum 1 Day Curses.
4 Points in Magic: Maximum 1 Week Curses.
5 Points in Magic: Maximum 1 Year Curses.
6 Points in Magic: Maximum 5 Years Curses.
7 Points in Magic: Maximum 10 Years Curses.
8 Points in Magic: Maximum target's whole Lifespan Curses.

It is functionally "easy" for a Mage to curse someone, usually only requiring them to be in close proximity to cast the spell, which is almost always Hidden. Curses are, however, very potent forms of Magic, so a Mage who over-uses them is often much more liable to Limit Break. A Mage can also cast a curse into an object, which will pass it onto the next person who picks it up, even long after the Mage dies. What a Curse can actually do is also nearly unlimited, as magic is mostly unlimited, but it is always limited to using the cursed person as a conduit. For example, you cannot curse someone to instantly kill anyone within 5 ft of them, but you could curse someone to severely burn the skin of any person they touch. Curses like these can only work once, or be perpetual. While it would be too cumbersome to write out a fully exhaustive list of what a Curse could be, below is a set of guidelines and rules on what Curses cannot do, or cannot be. These limitations are a mixture of IC (not possible with magic) or OOC (an unfair/unfun mechanic), and can generally be rationalized In-Character as Mages not being strong enough or experienced enough to apply these kinds of curses, the general limitations of cursing magic, or being a severe societal taboo that the character will not break:

Curses cannot fully Shapeshift, Disguise, or radically transform someone to the point of being unrecognizable.
Curses cannot do what the Spirit Duke Curses can do, listed on the Spirit page. Treat that section like a "ceiling."
Curses cannot influence or alter the Soul, as this is generally reserved for higher powers or Soul Magic, which has its own limits.
Curses cannot convey information to the person applying the curse, like where the cursed person is, or if they've said/done something, but they can activate on these triggers. The person applying the curse just won't know about it instantly.
Curses cannot be overly specific, for example you can curse someone to always tell the truth when they speak, but you cannot curse them to only tell the truth when asked a question by a specific person.
Curses cannot have too many complicated conditions or pre-requisites, they should generally only have one general trigger, and either be active in perpetuity or only activate when that trigger is met.
Curses can alter the cursed person's perception, but not alter other people's perception of the cursed person. A good rule of thumb is a Curse should only effect or apply to the Cursed person, or something they directly touch.
Curses cannot work as "boons," and cannot be applied in reverse. For example, you can curse someone to be weaker, but you can never "curse" them to be stronger. A good rule of thumb is a Curse should always be a bad thing for whoever it is applied to.
Curses cannot permanently alter someone, and should always be reverted when removed. Any secondary negative side effects are not removed, for example cursing someone to stab a friend, the stab wound would not be reverted.

It is difficult to defend oneself from the application of Curses, because they are so secretive, and because they are usually applied with potent magic. There is an exception to this, however, which is the presence of Gods and Religion. Very pious, faithful worshippers will often have their souls protected against weaker Curses, or Curses that are cast without any "agreement" or pre-requisite. For example, a good Unionist might have resistance against a weak Demon or Mage casting a Curse on them just by looking at them, but would not be protected if they accepted a gift from them or invited them into their home. This resistance takes the form of delaying the Curse, meaning the Unionist would still be cursed, but instead of the curse activating and doing what it meant to, it may take the form of some kind of scar or marking, giving the Unionist some time to try and stop it or have it removed before it takes effect. There are other kinds of Resistances to Curses that exist, such as for things like Archon, but there are rarely, if ever, outright immunities to curses. Even if someone themselves is resistant to a Curse, the people around them likely aren't, and the same goes for their possible children. An example list of types of peoples who may have resistances (of varying levels) to curses: Archon, Sihndar, Narim, Bralona, Urlan, Sihai, Songaskian, Godborn, Arkenborn, Afflictions. Removing Curses is a more complicated matter, as many Curses cannot be removed prematurely at all, at least by means accessible to Mortals. The list of ways to "remove" a Curse are, as follows (depending on the kind of curse it is):

Waiting it Out: Some Curses cannot be removed early, except by God-tier beings, and in order to get rid of it, especially if it is a shorter Curse, the person suffering it just has to wait for the Curse to end. This is especially common for "one time" Curses, where the victim just has to mitigate the harm of whatever the Curse does, and then they're free of it.
Priestly Absorption: Any Priest of a Religion can self-sacrifice by absorbing a Curse from someone. The cursed is spared, but the Priest suffers the full Curse in their stead. If a Priest has absorbed 3 Curses, and keeps all 3 Curses at the same time (of consequence, not low-impact or short timer Curses) the priest automatically generates 1 Static Divinium (which is usually used to then ask to have the Curses removed).
Dispelling the Curse: Dispelling a Curse is only available to Mages who are more experienced than the Mage that cast the Curse in the first Place (greater or equal Magic Investment), which undoes the magic of the Curse and instantly ends it. However, if the Player of the Cursed Character wants to remain Cursed for longer, they can decline this working.
Divine Intervention: Beings like Gods, Arken, Dragons, etc are all generally capable of removing any kind of Curse. If a character spends Divinium to summon a God, they are guaranteed to remove a Curse, if asked. If a God is asked without spending Divinium, they may not always agree. Other Event Entities (Arken, Powerful Demons, etc) may also be capable of removing Curses on request, but will almost always ask for something in return.