Necromorph (Art by AustenMengler)
Necromorphs are the reanimated bodies of any terrestrial or extraterrestrial organism that was infected by a pathogen created by Mordiggian who is one of the Ogdru Hem.
Description[]
Biology[]
The infection is also spread directly through the Necromorph pathogen – that is, the reanimated cells created by the Markers and which compose the Necromorphs. Typically, the infection is passed on to new host bodies via specialized Necromorphs. In order for the Necromorph pathogen to infect a host body, the host must first be dead; for reasons unknown, living victims who come into contact with the microbes do not undergo transformation, although symptoms of paralysis, catatonia, and impaired breathing can occur. While these symptoms do not necessarily ensure the death of the host, they can make it easier for nearby Necromorphs to catch and kill them. Living victims that ingest Necromorph tissue in large quantities undergo a gradual transformation, eventually dying of starvation.
Once the host is dead, the recombinant properties of the infection take hold. The process is extraordinarily rapid, and predictably violent. Cellular functions go into a self-destructive overdrive, creating new biologically active compounds which are then metabolized by reanimated flesh to fuel further mutations. Bones are broken, put together in new configurations, or reshaped into entirely new forms. All of this takes place within a matter of seconds, and the process generates tremendous amounts of heat. More often than not, the violently spasming corpses become so hot that stagnant blood begins to boil in the veins and arteries, rupturing the skin. Formerly vital organs (such as parts of the digestive system) that are no longer needed are broken down and turned into additional musculature, giving all Necromorphs increased physical strength.
Overview[]
The Necromorphs are the reanimated bodies of the dead, revived and reshaped into horrific new forms by recombinant extraterrestrial genes. These creatures are extremely aggressive, and will attack any non-necromorph on sight. The sole purpose of almost all Necromorphs is to create more bodies to spread the infection, while the role of one particular creature, the infector, is to specifically infect non-necromorphs to make more of themselves.
As discovered after a series of Necromorph outbreaks, the Necromorphs themselves are simply tools and components of Mordiggian. The Charnel God would produce large obelisks known as Markers and seed them where they would be discovered by sapient life. Through these Markers, Mordiggian telepathically influences the species who found them, compelling them to worship it or attempt to harness it as a source of infinite power. Over time, this influence would incite insanity within the infected, driving them to kill each other or themselves.
With enough dead cells to work with, the telepathic signal from the Markers would reanimate the tissue and reconstitute it into a Necromorph, a monstrous puppet of Mordiggian. Once all, or at least the vast majority, of a population has been converted into Necromorphs, they will return to the Marker and trigger a convergence event. The Marker will convert the biology of the Necromorph into photon particles that will propel them unto a reflective surface of a celestial satellite. Afterward, the satellite will reflect the beam backward unto the planet that transmutes the entire planet into a desolate necromorphic wasteland for Mordiggian to rule over.