Giving Your Players Parasites: Witchworms
They have many names in many lands: Silverstring. Bone Eater. Thrallwyrm. Traitor's Thread. Haglash.
However, in all the lands there's one word that will instantly end a conversation, melting it into muttered prayers and the gestures used to invoke divine protection.
Witchworms.
Native to damp and reeking climates, witchworms infest ancient, bottomless swamps and marshes like those of the Western Hexlands where water lies still and fetid. Where shadows cover stinking muck. Where the only landmark in an endless marsh is the hulking corpse of a long dead giant. Where trees reach up from black mud to choke the light out of the sky. This is where the witch worm is found. When it claims you, sleep will elude you. Madness will sit on your shoulder, barking in your ear. Your bones will crumble and your blood will flow. Your body will betray you, enslaved by devilish wills. If you’re lucky the last thing you know will be a loved one's axe biting through your neck or flames climbing up a pile of wood to devour your bound and filthy body.
PART ONE: BIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY OF OSEDAX MAGAFILUM
(BONE-EATING WITCH STRING) PARASITE INFESTATION
Witchworm infestations begin when water or fluids contaminated with microscopic osedax magafilum larvae are either directly ingested or otherwise gain access to the blood stream or body cavity. Once inside the body, female witchworm larvae quickly migrate to the bones, bore through to the marrow cavity, and there they feed, nest, and begin their reproductive cycle in earnest.
A female witchworm grows to 1-3 inches in length with the bulk of her body buried inside of her host's bone. A jelly-lined tube containing a harem of 50-100 microscopic males extends outwards from the marrow, through the hard cortex, and terminates in reddish feathery fronds that reach into surrounding tissues to absorb extra oxygen and nutrients.
Once witchworms have gained access to the internal cavity of a bone they begin extending communicating tendrils in search of one another. Individually these tendrils are thinner than a human hair and are quite fragile. As the infestation worsens these tendrils form a dense network, connecting every witchworm together in an internal webwork of nearly unbreakable semi-metallic fibers.
Under normal conditions, these fibers do not seem to have much impact on the host's physical condition. It is only when the victim is within the grasp of a witch's power (be it by way of spell or patron) that the effect of the fibers is manifested: bones that a moment ago were no more solid than sawdust are suddenly as strong as steel, seen to glow through the skin like a full moon passing behind clouds. The wretch moves like a demoniac, leaping, howling, tearing with impossible strength at anything it can grasp with fingers like blunt talons.
CONTRACTING WITCHWORMS
Witchworms are a waterborne/fluidborne parasite. Any sort of wetlands (marshes, swamps, fens, bogs) or standing water may harbor the osedax magafilum parasite, particularly in the Western Hexlands or in regions known to harbor witches. It is unclear whether the witches are drawn to these infestations or if the infestations are drawn to witches, but what is clear is that there is a definite synergy between the two.
Each witch is home to a menagerie of parasite and pathogen, the most common being the witchworm. Witches, knowing their toxicity, and are known to weaponize their bodily fluids by drooling on their claws before tearing at an enemy or spitting in the eyes or mouths of the unsuspecting.
Consuming anything made or handled by a witch is begging for a slow death. Since they use swamp water as a base for everything and stutterfly honey to conceal the vomitous tastes of their potions, be it poison, cure, potion, or stew, any witch concoction is guaranteed to seed contagion in one form or another.
SYMPTOMS OF THE INFESTATION
Symptoms typically start 6-12 hours after initial exposure as cramps or slight gnawing discomfort at a few focal points on the bones, then progress slowly over the course of several weeks as the witchworms invade their victim's body.
Darkening of the fingernails, bags under the eyes, bruising, prolonged bleeding, weakness
Cramps, pain in joints, deep gnawing bone pains, sensations of itchy or crawling bones, fractures from routine activities, flexible bones, height loss from spinal compression fractures
Dental problems including loose or lost teeth, bleeding gums, discoloration
Fever, fatigue, shortness of breath, infections, ague, poor healing
Insomnia, sleep walking, night terrors, bedwetting
Mania, depression, catatonia, hallucinations, schizophrenia, violent mood swings, psychosis, prolonged fugue states
OTHER EFFECTS
As singing next to a silent bell can draw song from musical metal, so too can witchcraft draw effects out of bodies infested with witchworms. The closer an infested person gets to wetlands or witchkind, the louder the metaphysical vibrations drawn from their bones. At a great distance this is little more than a silent hum, but it will expand into a crushing inaudible roar should the poor host stand in the presence of a witch. The more powerful this vibration the more power the witch has over the victim, whether she is sharing nightmare visions from afar, jabbing sympathy dolls with needles, or sending their body to commit blood-soaked atrocities.
When witchworms are called upon by their masters they respond by reinforcing the host's skeleton and filling their mind with boiling demonic rage. Even bones that have been reduced to little more than a calcium honeycomb will become as rigid as iron bars thanks to the filament matrix the witchworms weave through their hosts skeleton.
Each witchworm is able to receive a tiny bit of raw power from its masters. Individually this amounts to nothing, but when combined this can produce spectacular results ranging from disturbing sounds and voices to explosions, poison gas, and flames.
PROGRESSION OF THE INFESTATION
Witchworm infestations, unless cured quickly, will end in one of three ways, each more grisly than the last.
Death from gradual progression of symptoms. With time the bones become so brittle that the mere act of raising an arm to brush flies from the face is enough to snap the humerus. Confined to bed, the shattered and anemic body and mind slowly dissolve from raging infections as the immune system collapses. Larvae travelling in blood vessels form clots, and in the last days these find their way to the heart, lungs, and brain. The worms will continue feeding on the corpse until the bones are no more. With luck the flaccid corpse will be cremated before the Völd can use it as a device of their own twisted designs.
Possession. The victim's personality changes suddenly. Despite having been nearly crippled moments ago, they are suddenly filled with an uncontrollable violence. Their bones now seem to have the strength of iron, and their muscles are charged with the strength of ten men. To stop their rampage, the townsfolk hack them to pieces and burn them in a pit. Their ashes are baked with clay into 33 bricks. Each brick is encased in molten lead, and they are cast one at a time into the nearest wetlands.
Disappearance. The bones of those infested with witchworms call out to wetlands and witchkind alike. Be it by the devices of hags or the hands of huge reeking swamp creatures or the motive powers of the victims themselves, they disappear in the night. Some are later found dead in a nearby swamp some weeks later, naked and dismembered. Some are found some weeks or months later in abandoned buildings, having been used as a sort of breeding sack for the witches and their vile witchworms. Some are found mindlessly wandering in distant countrysides, covered in welts and scars from ghastly tortures. Some return to haunt their village soon after their disappearance, spreading murder and mayhem under cover of night. Some mercifully vanish, never to be seen again.
CURING WITCHWORMS
Death is the most common cure for the torments of witchworms, though even that seems to be an unreliable solution.
Folk cures such as bathing downstream from sage branches or standing before a mirror set in a bowl of black salt do nothing to alter the course of an infestation. Some of these folk cures, such as stuffing one's pockets with stones and rolling down a hill, or ingesting mixtures of pine tar and cat urine, are likely to either accelerate or complicate things.
Herbalists and alchemists tout numerous cures for witchworms. Most of these cures are no more effective than a coffee enema. Those cures that do seem to slow, stop, or reverse the progression of the disease typically involve ingesting toxic substances such as hydrofluoric acid or high potency mixtures of elemental cadmium, aluminum, mercury, and lead. Despite their crippling lifelong side effects, to say nothing of their outright lethality, many victims would prefer permanent brain damage to the horrific alternative.
Magical cures are dangerous, particularly for advanced infestations. Using magic to cure witchworms forms a direct connection between the naive healer and the Völd, with the poor victim serving as a conduit for that power. There are several documented cases where the afflicted, their selfless healer, and half their house were ripped out of existence when the hosts body transformed suddenly into a host-shaped doorway to the Realm of Hunger.
Witches may have a treatment for witchworms but a witch will never do anything for free, will never willingly give up power. For a witch to offer a true cure with no tricks and no strings attached she must either gain something more valuable in exchange or she must be utterly powerless.
PART TWO: GIVING YOUR PLAYERS WORMS
This section is more or less system-neutral. However, seeing that D&D is wildly popular these days, the manifestation rules and gameplay are skewed in that direction. You win this round, Señor Gygax.
WITCHWORMS: GAMEPLAY
Chances to contract witchworm:
Pass an average constitution/toughness check if a witch inflicts wounds with an unarmed attack
Pass a hard constitution/toughness check after coming in direct fluid-to-fluid contact, swimming in contaminated waters, or consuming a witch's potion.
Symptoms begin D6+6 hours after initial contact.
Witchworm infestations last 3d8+20 days and end in death. This time period should be split into thirds for further consideration.
Early Infestation: The first third of an infestation. Symptoms will be mild and purely physical: decreased strength, constitution, dexterity, charisma, and willpower. Characters will suffer slightly more damage from crushing and blunt weapon attacks.
Middle Infestation: The middle third of an infestation. During this phase characters will be suffering greatly and will have considerable deficits in all physical abilities: all stats are effectively halved. Characters will suffer double damage from crushing and blunt weapon attacks. They will also be at a great disadvantage to any form of pact magic or when attempting to resist the wishes of witches or their patrons.
Beginning with middle infestation and carrying on through the end of late infestation, any time the infested character encounters a witch there is a cumulative 5% chance along with a cumulative 2% chance with each day that passes that they enter a fugue state and go on a killing spree, enraged and attacking indiscriminately for d6 hours. In this fugue state, all stat loss is reversed and the character gains advantages with all tests of strength and endurance. Their hardened bones suffer only half damage from crushing or blunt weapons and they are immune to fatigue, pain, charm, and fear. This effect requires that the character is within two miles of a witchworm infested wetland, witchkind, or any other source of witch power or patronage.
Example: encountering a witch on day 6 of middle infestation will have a 17% chance (6 days x 2% + 5%) of inducing a murderous fugue state.
Late Infestation: The final third of an infestation. Characters will be more or less bedridden, as any sort of vigorous movement is likely to break bones. The mind begins to slip, and the hallucinations of madness begin chewing away at the bounds of reality. Characters are at a double disadvantage when attempting any sort of roll against pact magic, witches, or their ilk.
Compelling Visions: witchworm infestation bestows the ability to see witches through solid material to a range of 1000ft. If an infested player can see a witch they must use all their willpower to not move directly towards it, noticing intervening terrain only after colliding with it.
Luminal Bones: Witches see witchworm infested bones as a soft glow, making it impossible to hide from them or their patrons. Hosts are clearly visible, even through solid stone.
OTHER GAMEPLAY IDEAS
Witches often carry a vessel (usually a hollow gourd) filled with a mixture of swamp water and any other parasite or pathogen-rich material they can find: bits of corpses, stutterfly honey, pus, rat feces, chigger eggs, etcetera. Before combat or during combat they will pour this vile substance on their hands to coat them with virulent material or will take a mouthful and spray it in an enemy's face, confusing them and likely getting their spit and swamp concoction into the targets eyes, nostrils, or mouth.
Determining the age of a dead witch can be as simple as counting the number of witchworm bore holes per square inch.
Witch bones are often so filled with holes that peasants will hang them from tree branches as musical wind-chimes. These grisly devices, known as "Screamers", are thought to scare away witches and other unclean spirits. In reality they serve to mark targets for vengeful witches and their kin.
A vial of witchworms suspended in stutterfly honey is the sure sign of an assassin or a well poisoner, and is grounds for immediate execution without trial. These vials, unless encased in layers of gold, copper, and lead, can also serve as a locus of power and a spying tool for witches. These vials are similar to magnets in how they can invisibly influence the world around them, subtly at a distance and irresistibly when close. They may be carried into a house by vermin to be stashed in an attic, inside of a mattress, inside of a wall, or behind a cupboard, to subtly poison the happenings in that house.
Archers, particularly long-range marksmen, and witchcraft go hand-in-hand. The flight paths of arrows, particularly when shot from afar, are notoriously unpredictable as they travel through a fickle medium and thus witches and their patrons are keen to prey upon archers.
No mortal has seen the Omnipatron, the Great Violet Witch, Omtatramagissa, but there are those that say that witchworms are merely miniature versions of that being, a gigantic parasitic worm that feeds on the bones of the world, of the very universe itself.
NOTE
The Osedax Magafilum is closely based on a real creature, the Osedax Mucofloris, which pleasantly means "bone-eating snot flower". Known also as “zombie worms”, osedax make their home in whale carcasses that have fallen hundreds and thousands of feet to the ocean floor (known as "whale falls"), and are a major player in the bathypelagic ecosphere.
CLOSING
In future I’m going to make these posts WAY shorter and more focused. While its fun for me to flesh these parasites out and to build a microcosm around them, if I spend a week writing each one I’m never going to get anything else done. I have this tendency to follow thoughts all the way to the bottom of a rabbit hole, to pull a thread until my sweater’s undone and I’m standing naked in the breeze with Lady Productivity pointing and laughing at my dangling unmentionables. Which is not an effective way of getting things done.
“Are you going to design other games?” Nope, can’t. “What about games where you’re trying to trick players into drinking poison?” Nope. Don’t have the time, too busy writing one blog post. “But will you have time to make games where you and your homies are piloting robotic A.I. chimps and apes, trying to destroy each-other on a post-apocalyptic earth?” Sorry, cant. I’m too busy obsessing about fake parasites that aren’t even real but maaaaaan if they were could you imagine? I mean, could you even imagine??
Okay. That’s it for now. Bedtime for bonzo. Have yourself a killer Monday.
Until next time…
Be creative. Have fun. Get weird.
GLOSSARY
Ontatramagissa: Aka. The Great Violet Witch, the One True Patron. A being thought to resemble a gigantic osedax magafilum worm, said to be the most powerful of all the Völd.
Realm of Hunger: the Realm of Hunger is, in essence, a cosmic black hole, likely situated at the center of the Universe. It is eternally insatiable, an eager devourer, swallower of heat and light and life and existence. Though living matter is annihilated by radiation and impossibly powerful gravitational forces, there are beings that inhabit this space, entities so incomprehensibly alien and malignant that they cannot be described except as despair, hatred, and doom.
Völd: the encapsulated total of all patrons known to grant favors to and share power with witches. Means "powers" in Icelandic.
The Western Hexlands: an area covered in sprawling marshes, bogs, swamps, and other wetlands, known to be infested with both witches and witchworms. It is said that during the First Age of Shadows there was a great battle fought there, and this is where the last Gargant and the last of its Giants died.
