The Black Spot

The Black Spot is a Curse bestowed by a Deity, Celestial, or Spirit, at the invocation of a dying Mortal that they have taken an interest in. Not all invocations of the Black Spot manifest an actual Curse; the person doing the invocation must be a person of interest to one of those three entities in order for it to truly work.

The Curse manifests when invoked by a dying Mortal at the hands of someone who has betrayed them out at sea, such as a mutiny or other such betrayal on a ship. It is typically manifested by a sea Deity, Celestial, or Spirit at the request of the dying Mortal.

The Black Spot manifests firstly as a literal black spot upon the person; a tattoo-like mark reminiscent of an ink blob that usually appears on the hand or chest. This mark is often the size of a large coin and cannot be removed by magic.

Secondly, the Curse engraves an Echo of the murdered individual onto the Soul of the betrayer, tying the two together until the betrayer themself dies. Attempts to banish the spectre or have it cross over will fail, as it is linked directly onto the Soul of the perpetrator. This Echo will follow and torment the cursebearer wherever they go, including in their dreams.

Finally, the Curse marks the bearer as a target for Ethereal Undead, such as ghosts, spectres, and spirits. It will cause them to chase and attempt to harm the bearer, even if they have no other link to them.

While the mark can be hidden or covered, it can be easily detected using a Detect Curse spell, and will give off a faint aura in the presence of a Detect Magic or Detect Evil and Good spell, though the aura will be unclear. As this is a Divine Curse, a Remove Curse or Remove Greater Curse spell will be ineffective.

Wards against Ethereal Undead will keep them away from the cursebearer, but will have no impact on the Echo engraved onto their Soul. Avoiding haunted locations is the best way to evade this particular effect of the Curse.

The only options to truly be rid of the Curse are to appease both the murdered Echo and the entity that placed the it, or death. Appeasement can be difficult, as it requires knowledge and understanding of the desires and needs of the two entities involved.

In cases where the Black Spot is mistakenly placed upon an innocent, appeasement can be gained by bringing the actual perpetrator to justice.

Bearers of the Black Spot are often seen as pariahs, people not to be trusted nor worked with, particularly among sailors. In fact, those who have been cursed with the Black Spot are seen as bad luck and immediately removed from ships in any manner deemed necessary. This is because bearers draw Ethereal Undead to them, often causing havoc upon the ship or in the location that they are staying.