Virus III

This strain awakens wild psionic talent, whether or not the host had any, and keeps amplifying it until the brain bursts. For the first day the only sign is a light-headed, disoriented buzzing in the ears. On day two the victim has the powers of a 1st-level psionicist (an existing psionicist instead goes up a level); the DM may roll or choose the powers. Each following day brings another level.

Headaches come too, lasting about an hour per level gained, during which the victim takes -4 on attack and damage rolls, saves and proficiency checks. Once they last eight hours the victim makes a madness check daily; once they reach 10 hours a daily save vs. death magic is also needed, failure meaning the brain explodes. Both rolls suffer a -2 penalty that stacks with every additional day.

Besides the usual cures, psychic surgery combined with mindwipe removes it; the patient cannot help with this. A corpse carries the dormant virus in its flesh, and touching an infected mind through direct mental contact also spreads it unless the contacting creature saves vs. death magic.

Like the other strains it spreads by contact with the dormant form, but its first target is the host's shadow. It starts deceptively mildly, with a low fever and tingling scalp. By the end of day one the shadow is visibly fraying, and it unravels over the following days until, unchecked, it vanishes on the seventh. The virus then turns on the flesh: in a day a limb turns insubstantial, and each night another part fades. On the fourteenth night the victim disappears and dies, rising minutes later as a shadow.

An infected psionicist cannot use the shadow form science. Swallowing a small blessed diamond under a continual light spell during the first seven days cures the disease, destroying both virus and gem.

Shadows made this way spread the virus by touch. Unlike the other strains, it has no living carriers.