Resource Project Blackghoul

Nevermourn

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PROJECT BLACKGHOUL

13BBY. The darkness swells, and the force bleeds shadow. Sith utilize alchemy to create a monster, something nearly unstoppable, which sweeps across the galaxy with no regard for who it targets. Project Blackwing. Viral in nature, it was silent through the air, unable to be heard, or seen, or smelled. Infection meant death, but that was not the end. The body reanimates, rises from it's grave, a creature who's only desire was to kill.

The purpose was immortality, but this was not a blessing. It was a nightmarish curse. The first outbreak occurred upon Yavin, threatening to overtake the entire galaxy. Recognizing the threat, it was eliminated by the Galactic Empire before it could spread too far. Unfortunately, though, that would not be the end. Criminal organizations, rogue scientists, and independent extremists gathered samples from the infected tissue, and then it was gone. The virus was never seen again, and the samples were never recovered. Until now.

AMS was the latest of viral illnesses which reanimated the host into horrific monsters. The two diseases were not related, however, and ultimately, a vaccine was made for the nightmarish AMS sickness. Blackwing has been all but forgotten, but it seemed that in the wake of AMS, renewed interest for the old virus emerged within small, independent cartel groups. Worse, still, a Sith now knows of Blackwing's existence, and he fully intends to utilize it.
CREATING BLACKGHOUL
Blackghoul is a cruel mixture of AMS and Project Blackwing, created via Sith alchemy. The creation itself required a lengthy ritual, in which several sentient sacrifices were required to be made. These sentients would be the first infected by the vile concoction. Unlike AMS, there is no vaccine for Blackghoul, as it is entirely created via alchemy, and is therefore unnatural. Once the first victims were infected, they would become excessively hostile, attacking virtually any lifeform that it came across, with the exception of the one completing the ritual.

That is not to say that the infected would not attack Sith, simply not those that participated in the ritual. This failsafe is specifically created during the ritual by utilizing a fairly large quantity of the caster's blood, a personal sacrifice in addition to the lives of the victims.

The ritual attunes the first victims, and any that they go on to infect, to the planet that the ritual was cast upon. In other words, Infected could not be removed from one planet and placed on another, as they would rapidly rot and disintegrate upon leaving the atmosphere. This meant that infecting additional planets required additional rituals on said planets.

Blackghoul could be spread through several means. Anything clawed or bitten by the infected will succumb to the disease, suffering prolonged and painful muscles spasms, vomiting, pale skin, weakness, joint pain, bleeding from the eyes (and all other openings of the body), before finally succumbing to death, in which they would be reanimated anew. These creatures are often referred to as Ghouls. The saliva or flesh of an infected could also be added into liquid mixtures that could be utilized to target specific individuals, or, on a grander scale, the water supply of cities, though a significantly larger sample size would be required for bigger schemes. The catch is that the water supply infected must be that of the same world that the ritual was completed on. Samples from Infected on one planet could not be taken to another planet to infect the population there.

Destroying victims of Blackghoul was particularly difficult, as they would rise from wounds that would be fatal to anything else. The victims could be immobilized by removing their limbs, but would still attempt to bite anyone who got too close. Indeed, nothing short of completely obliterating the victims would stop them completely. Fire is a particularly useful component in this endeavor. Ghouls could also be frozen, but would resume their attacks after regaining mobility, even if that took years.

Jedi could utilize the light side to their advantage to release the spirits of those trapped within, leaving the Infected a limp husk upon the ground. This is the closest thing to a cure that the sickness has.
ON-SITE USAGE
Project Blackghoul is a deadly disease which essentially creates zombies, but it does it with the added twist of having no current cure or vaccine. This is not something that can ever be utilized in PvP. For one, creating the first victims of an outbreak required a long and difficult ritual, which could be disrupted, or the first victims could potentially be destroyed before they infect others. So, doing this ritual in the middle of a PvP is simply not feasible. The ritual attunes the Subject Zero ghouls, created in the ritual, to the planet that the ritual is completed on. In other words, trying to transport Ghouls off of the planet where the ritual was completed would result in rapid deterioration and rot until the body is utterly destroyed.

The victims of the disease (or the disease itself) can be used for events, or cinematic scenes or battles, not so dissimilar from glassing a world, although Blackghoul takes considerably more time to overtake and decimate a planet. Victims can also be used in future roleplays on worlds where an outbreak has taken place and either destroyed the population, or was contained. This provides some more spooky zombie material for the site.

The major differences to AMS have already been stated, but to reiterate, this disease combines Project Blackwing, a canon zombie virus created via Sith Alchemy, and AMS, a fanon virus with more scientific backing. The mixture, created using Sith Alchemy, results in several differences. For example, the first victims must be created via a lengthy ritual which requires sacrifices, although an uncontained outbreak can spread like wildfire on it's own. The victims of the disease are also specifically created to not target individuals completing the ritual, which the original Project Blackwing didn't have, resulting in the casualties of Sith who created it. Thus, this failsafe has been integrated into the ritual itself.

Additionally, Infected created via the ritual will go on to spread to other people on the planet the ritual was completed upon, but these Infected are attuned to the planet, and will therefore be destroyed if people attempt to move them to another world, unlike AMS. This is due to the more supernatural aspect of this particular disease. For outbreaks on other planets, additional rituals, specifically on those planets, would need to be made.

An additional, and considerably more horrifying difference from AMS, is that those infected with Blackghoul still retain some level of themselves, as their spirits are essentially trapped within the body. Outwardly, victims may appear completely lifeless, merely reanimated monsters with their only purpose being to kill and infect. Inwardly, though, those attuned to the force will likely be able to feel the intense level of agony, grief, and terror of the victims, who are no longer in control of themselves. For this reason, freshly turned Infected may appear to be screaming or sobbing, even as they attack without mercy.

Blackghoul has no known vaccine or cure at the time of it's creation, as the disease is unnatural and entirely fueled by the Dark Side. Jedi might find, however, that focusing the light upon a victim can tame their rage, and bring the infected a sense of peace, in which their spirits will mercifully pass on into the force to leave the Infected husk lifeless upon the ground. Several Jedi may be able to purify several victims at the same time, provided they don't get overrun. Additionally, Jedi infected with the disease have a much longer incubation time than the average person, and as a result can, in fact, purify themselves before death, essentially curing themselves. The process requires considerable focus and several weeks of recovery time. More powerful Jedi can purify themselves more quickly, and may only need a few days of recovery.

Victims of the disease, including their flesh or saliva, can be captured or otherwise harvested for personal stories, however creating the disease itself is something that can only be done by those who know how, namely, Sol Kenuk and any he teaches the ritual to. More importantly, Infected cannot be removed from the planet they originated from, as they would rapidly disintegrate. That isn't to say that additional rituals could not be created on other planets to start new outbreaks. Finally, Infected cannot be commanded or otherwise controlled by any means. While they will ignore those with a strong attunement to the dark side, they cannot be directed.
INTENT
My character, Sol, is working hard to dive into the depths of Sith Alchemy, and he intends to utilize alchemy created diseases as a form of weaponry across the galaxy. Though the disease itself won't be commonly utilized (much like glassing), it has the power to create some incredibly villainous writing opportunities. I plan for Sol to go through a story arc of gathering the samples, in addition to multiple threads dedicated to Sol gaining experience with alchemy, before finally creating the first subjects infected with Blackghoul.

Blackghoul, for the most part, won't be something PCs will have to worry about. Much like AMS Infected, though, the victims are another matter entirely. I wanted to create what was essentially a zombie virus with a more supernatural aspect to it. Thankfully, canon delivered with Project Blackwing. Since AMS is already on the site (and is extremely similar), it made sense that Sol would retrieve samples from Blackwing, and from AMS, and utilize them in Sith Alchemy for some pretty deranged plots.

In addition to villainous writing opportunities, independent or Jedi characters have multiple ways that they can interact with Blackghoul, from purifying the disease to containing it, or perhaps even developing a vaccine or cure for it. Additionally, I plan for Sol to one day transcribe a holocron with the information on Blackghoul, insuring that future generations of the Sith might be able to gain access to it again, provided they can find the holocron. Alternatively, should the Jedi one day secure the holocron, they might be able to prevent Blackghoul from ever happening again.

So I suppose, ultimately, the main intent of Blackghoul is story. Not just story for Sol, or the Sith, but for everyone.

This is Site Lore.
 
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Logan

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This seems different enough from AMS that I am okay approving it. I appreciate how the souls of the victims get to suffer while they are zombies. (:

Approved.
 
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