Symbiote
"I grow a second self inside my chest. It breathes with me. It thinks with me. It dies with me."
- Cost
- 1 Memory
- TN
- 16
- Tempo
- Ritual (30 minutes)
- Steps
- —
- Resist
- —
Effect
You grow a biological symbiotic organism within your own body. The Symbiote:
- Provides continuous healing: +1 HP per hour at all times, even during combat
- Automatically stabilizes you if you are Downed (no Medicine check needed)
- Grants +1 GRIT permanently (the Symbiote reinforces your endurance)
- Can store up to 3 doses of any toxin, stimulant, or medicinal compound you’ve previously encountered (including Purge effects), released on your command
- Functions as a biological Erosion Sink: once per session, you may redirect 1 point of Erosion to the Symbiote instead of your own track. The Symbiote can absorb up to 3 Erosion total before dying.
Duration: Permanent. The Symbiote is alive and part of you until killed or surgically removed.
Requirement
The Bond: If the Symbiote dies (from absorbing too much Erosion, or from Reality Anchor (BS R4) or The Citadel (BS R5) sustained against it; lower-Rank Bastion Soul Talents cannot destroy it), you take 2d6 Strain and lose the +1 GRIT permanently. The loss feels like a death, because it was.
Special
The Symbiote is visible as a fist-sized mass beneath the skin of your torso. It pulses with your heartbeat. You can feel it thinking, not human thoughts, but biological responses. Warmth. Hunger. Contentment. You name it, eventually. Everyone does.