The Damned

The Damned (also known as The Afflicted) is the name given to those infected by the plague (The Affliction) that arose during The Doom. The Damned infect others by biting them. The Damned will attack any uninfected person who touches them or somehow “wakes” them.

The Damned are not like zombies or other unnatural undead, but they do seem to have the ability to not age while in a dormant state. Some say the Damned will never die, but will forever wait for the flesh of the undamned to feast upon. It does not appear that the Damned retain any intelligence, only a mindless need to attack uninfected and feast on their flesh.

The Church of the Light believe that it is a disease and treat it as such, when possible. (see: Additional Spells#Detect_Disease) Clerics can pray for the miracle of curing disease and this might free the victim of the disease, but it is not always a guaranteed result. The disease leaves a permanent scar on a person’s well-being and vitality. The nature of the disease, the Church claims, is that it is a spread affliction of spirit, starting when human-kind gave up on the best things that make them human. This spread of "Darkness and Damnation" can only truly be stopped when human-kind stand up united against the darkness of The Doom.

Some practitioners of Arcane knowledge claim to have found clues of chaos magick that might explain the Affliction, but these are largely ignored.