CORE SETTING — HAZARD
CORRUPTION
One of the most dangerous — and paradoxically valuable — phenomena linked to the Rifts. It spreads. It transforms. It repurposes. And somewhere, someone is always trying to profit from it.
Unpredictable in origin and relentless in expression, Corruption tends to manifest in two distinct stages, each more extreme than the last.
Unlike radiation or chemical exposure, Corruption does not behave randomly. It moves with something resembling intent — toward life, toward complexity, toward minds. The creatures it produces are not merely altered. They are driven by instincts that were not theirs before.
They serve something. Or they become something's expression.
The first stage spreads through organic matter, altering living tissues at a genetic, cellular, and even metaphysical level. Victims rarely survive intact. In some cases, the host is consumed entirely — dissolved from the inside out. In others, the mutation continues until the creature is no longer recognizable, transformed into something alien.
These beings — often called Voidborn, Corrupted, or Hollows — are not merely mutated lifeforms. They are extensions of the Void's will, driven by instincts not their own.
Corruption in this stage is highly contagious. Many civilizations quarantine affected areas with brutal efficiency — others attempt to harness the infection.
If the Corruption is left unchecked long enough, and the surrounding biomass is fully consumed or converted, it enters a second, more stable state. In this form, the taint crystallizes into a substance known as Void Crystal or Crystallized Corruption.
This material is bizarre and highly valuable. Its properties vary depending on the mass and complexity of the organic matter it fed on. In most cases, it acts as a chaotic energy source. In rare and highly prized forms, it can bend time, twist gravity, or disrupt causality itself.
Chaotic energy source — unstable, powerful, difficult to control without specialized containment.
Temporal distortion, gravitational manipulation, or disruption of local causality. Extraordinarily valuable. Extraordinarily dangerous.
Rumoured to produce an inversion of gravitational force — repelling mass rather than attracting it. Ideal for exotic propulsion systems or gravitic weaponry. All records sealed by the Galactic Committee.
EXPLOITATION AND RISK
Rumours persist of corporations, criminal syndicates, and rogue states deliberately spreading Corruption in isolated zones to create lucrative crystal veins. Controlled outbreaks are seeded, monitored, and harvested. In many cases, this strategy has proved profitable.
But not without cost.
More than once, a harvesting lab or containment facility has failed. When it does, the result is catastrophic — entire stations overrun, planetary surfaces twisted into lifeless wastes, ecosystems overwritten by alien growth and reality-warping flora.
Areas of catastrophic containment failure are typically declared off-limits by local governments. The classification rarely sticks. Scavengers and black market traders still risk the descent, drawn by the crystal concentrations that form at the heart of every failed harvest. The mortality rate is not published. Those who return don't tend to file reports.
GAME REFERENCE
View Corruption Mechanics →