There are worlds outside of our own, realms where powerful supernatural beings called Masques shape their very realities to their particular desires. But like most powerful beings who have everything they could want, they find ways to want more — more power, more minions, more of whatever their strange otherworldly hearts desire. There is a thin barrier between our world and these other realms. That barrier is called the Ashfall. The Masques have figured out ways to pierce through the Ashfall, allowing creatures from their realms to slip into our world, and allow them to siphon the energy of human emotion, dreams, and nightmares, from our own.

In the 1650s, when Hollygrove was first settled, there existed cracks in that thin barrier through which magic and even entities leaked into our world. They existed within the unsettled areas. But as more people began to move in, the more there was to feed upon, the more cracks and fissures appeared, and the more began to slip through in both directions.

Gradually, as the people of Hollygrove attempted to ward off the creatures they found in the woods and protect themselves and their homes, they discovered that they too were becoming changed. The physical changes began to come first and then some developed strange new abilities to go along with them. Some moved away in fear, fleeing the area never to return. Others sought mystical help, religious help, even help from the militia once or twice. But it was to no avail. Something was affecting the citizens of Hollygrove and there was no cure.

They decided to call it, simply, and very creatively, The Curse.

The Curse can affect anyone who lives in Hollygrove for a length of time usually greater than a few months. It usually does not strike tourists who come in and out of town for a short visit. There seems to be some connection with the area needed that most tourists do not have. It can strike at any age, but more often than not it manifests in early adulthood.

The Curse has been known to manifest earlier in some. Rarely does it strike the elderly, but it’s not entirely unheard of.

For most, it begins to manifest gradually with physical changes to the individual’s form followed by the development of some manner of supernatural abilities.

Some manifest their supernatural abilities right away and instinctively know how to use them. Others struggle with control, awkwardly going through a phase of either not knowing entirely what they can do, or knowing and being unable to control when or how it happens.

The process is different for every individual and the reaction to the change can be a wide spectrum from elation to horror. Some cope well with the changes while others spend their lives struggling with them.

The journey of your character’s manifestation of the Curse and how they live with it is yours to choose.

The short answer? No.

The longer answer? There are certainly rumors and legends of a cure and those who spend their lives trying to find it. There is, at this point in our story, no proof that one exists.

Not everyone is cursed. There are those who live in Hollygrove their entire lives who are never cursed. They are, however, very much aware that it’s always possible, and that they live in a very unusual place surrounded by the supernatural.

The town is protective of its own and by and large work together to support the community. Like any group, there are friendships and rivalries, drama and hostilities. But the one thing that can unify the town fast is an outside threat.

There are beings that slip through the cracks from the realms of the Masques that will end up in town and the surrounding areas from time to time. They were never human residents of earth.

All PC characters start out as humans who have not yet been affected by the curse. When you create your character you will be creating a purely human individual who has either grown up in Hollygrove or who has come to the town recently. Your character may have had interaction with the supernatural, but has not become so, themselves.

• The curse will be handled by in-game mechanics and storyteller intervention.
• The timing of its first manifestation will be different for each character based on a number of factors.
• Players may opt to remain fully human and not become cursed at all.

Characters that were created and played during the Curse at Ciprian College season on The Network will not be able to directly transfer to Curiosities as all characters in Curse at Ciprian College were already cursed.