The Netherworld
The Spiritworld, the Netherworld, the Other Side, the astral plane, these are just a few of the many names that are given to the world of spirits that coexists with the world of the living; the physical plane of existence.

A lot of spirits live in this world but not all of them originate from this world. Some of them visit the physical world from time to time, some of them are trapped in the physical world and try to get home. The nether has a vague resemblance to the physical world and yet it is a lot more prone to change. All in all, it is rather difficult to state a definite thing about this place.

Underneath and, at the same time, all around the spirit world is a place called 'the Deep Spirit'. It can be reached by spiritually descending into the world. Much like diving into a deep black swamp, it is not a pleasant feeling and it brings you to a black and empty place filled with unspeakable horror. However, it is as much a place as it is an entity. It is a being that encompasses an entire dimension on its own and yet it is as much a single being as it is a phalanx of beings, a joining of several individuals. The only thing that can be said with certainty is that it lived in this place before AranoX existed.

"We were the ones that were here before time. We were the ones trapped by your Goddess. We are the first that lived here and will be the last to remain. We will reclaim this realm and destroy your world in the process."

From this was deducted that when the Goddess sealed off her world from all magic, she didn't erect a shield around the world, but transported her entire world into a different dimension. A hostile place with dark inhabitants determined to restore it to the way it was. To aid it in its goals, the Deep Spirit infected an individual with a Black Seed.

The Black Seed is part of the essence of Deep Spirit, the strange entity that both inhabits and encompasses the Deep Spirit. It looks like a miniature black heart, (the size of a grape) with two veinous tentacles. If the black seed is implanted in your body your blood turns to black and you cannot die. Well, you can still die, but you don't remain dead. Instead, you are recreated by the black seed and lose a little bit of yourself in the process. The Black Seed ensures that you return back to life every time you die, but at the same time, it takes away your humanity.

times you dieEffect
1.–1 Wis, cure light wounds (D8+5) 1/day
2.You loose a little bit of interest in other people and your personality changes accordingly. (–1 Cha) The Black Seed corrupts your blood even more and allows you to heal small wounds (cure light wounds 2/day) The darkness of the Deep Spirit gets a firmer grip on you, but now you can also cast Darkness 1/day
3.Little by little you loose touch with yourself, even some of your fondest childhood memories seem trivial now. (-1 Wis) Your ability to use cure light wounds increases to 3/day.
4.As the Black Seed drains the color from your face and riddles it with black veins, you become less pleasing to look upon. Sadly enough people do judge your personality by the way you look. (–1 Cha) You can heal your wounds 4/day and additionally the Black Seed has changed your body in such a way that you become immune to strength drain caused by shadows or other similar ‘dark’ spirits.
5.It is not that you don’t understand individuality, personal hopes or desires, it is just that you don’t care that much anymore. (–1 Wis) After your fifth death, you have become quite accustomed to dying and the Black Seed has changed the way your body works. You loose the cure light wounds ability but gain Fast Healing 2 instead.
5+-1 Wis and -1 Cha


Despite the fact that you can't remain dead, the Black Seed is not really healthy. You suffer from several side effects. These effects occur when the character is stressed, i.e. on a critical failure or in a heated discussion. Side effects when stressed have a (6-n) chance (minimum 1) in 20 of happening. All these effects last for D6+n rounds (except where noted). 'n' is the number of deaths
  1. Black out (the character’s mind is temporarily drawn into the Deep Spirit, body is paralysed)
  2. Strength surge (+4 Strength)
  3. Nausea (-4 Strength)
  4. Darkness
  5. Throbbing pain (-2 to all physical skill)
  6. Summoning of D4 shadows (hostile to anyone, permanent effect)