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Chapter Concept: Defile the Light (New Killer, Survivor, Map, and Item)
Table of Contents
Killer: The Malebranche
- Killer Data
Power - Grip of Nox
- Stress
- The Light Bearer
- Screams from Beyond
- Hand of Nox
- Add-ons
- Common
- Uncommon
- Rare
- Very Rare
- Ultra Rare
The Malebranche’s Teachable Perks
- Stagnant Air
- Hex: Clamoring Grasp
- Hex: Disembodied Stares
Survivor: Ariana Misa
- Survivor Data
Ariana’s Teachable Perks
- Researcher
- Boon: Full Moon
- Boon: Resonation With Night
New Realm: The Void
- New Map: “Detention”
New Item: Parish Book
- Item Rarities
- Add-ons
- Common
- Uncommon
- Rare
- Very Rare
- Ultra Rare
Killer: the Malebranche
Killer Data
Overview: The Malebranche is an aberrant abomination, an amalgamation of souls mangled and broken by the Fog. Its personal perks deflower the minds of the Survivors and the Realm itself.
Speed: 4.6 m/s (115%)
Terror Radius: 32 meters
Height: Tall
Other Notes: The Malebranche has an omnidirectional lullaby at 40 meters, that changes in sound noticeably between 32 and 24 meters, but does not change between 0 and 24 meters. The Malebranche’s heavy form makes it easy to track through loops, but the darkness that makes it up makes it difficult to see from afar in some Realms.
Power: Grip of Nox
The Malebranche gnaws at the edges of the Survivors’ sanity, breaking them in time. It’s only natural for a Survivor to take the helm, to keep the morale up, to be the Light Bearer, but the Malebranche has long since learned that anyone breaks under sufficient Stress. Its Screams from Beyond is just the tool to break them, too – a constant threat, a reminder that their soul will not stay forever.
As the Survivors lose their grip on their mind, the Malebranche’s Hand of Nox holds them still and traps them in their fate.
Stress
A status condition divided into 3 subdivisions, much like the Madness Status Effect. Stress is tracked for each individual Survivor at a scale of 0 to 99: a Survivor is not Stressed from 0-24, is at Stress Level 1 from 25-49, Level 2 from 50-74, and at Level 3 from 75-99. The exact progress of a Survivor’s Stress is shown to other Survivors on the HUD (by gradually filling a 3-segment circle around their portrait), while the Malebranche only receives a HUD update on Stress when a new Level is reached.
Stress passively increases at a rate of 0.3 per second for each Survivor, and this increases by an additional 0.3 for each injured, Downed, Hooked, or Dead Survivor. The rate of passive Stress generation is doubled while a Survivor is being chased, only for the Survivor(s) being chased. When a Survivor is hit by the Malebranche, they immediately gain 11 Stress. Being hit while you have the Endurance Status Effect will not result in an increase in Stress.
Stress Level 1:
- At Stress Level 1 (25-49), a Survivor loses the ability to hear a change in the Malebranche’s lullaby between 30 and 24 meters, and for them only the Malebranche’s terror radius is reduced by 8 meters. Skill checks move 10% faster while not within 4 meters of another Survivor, and failing a skill check results in 2% greater regression.
Stress Level 2:
- At Stress Level 2 (50-74), a Survivor will now permanently hear the Malebranche’s lullaby, and the Malebranche’s terror radius will be reduced by 16 meters for them only. Skill checks move 20% faster while not within 4 meters of another Survivor, and failing a skill check results in 4% greater regression.
Stress Level 3:
- At Stress Level 3 (75-99), a Survivor will scream once every 20 seconds, and will be afflicted with the Oblivious Status Effect. Skill checks move 30% faster while not within 4 meters of the Light Bearer only, and failing a skill check results in 6% greater regression.
Stress is lowered by 1 for each second spent healing another Survivor (this rate is adjusted to account for Mangled; only 16 Stress will be deducted per heal at most, even if it is interrupted and regresses from Hemorrhaging), and by 8.25 each time a Survivor is unhooked. Stress does not passively build while healing another Survivor.
The Light Bearer
The Light Bearer (1 Survivor marked by a torch next to their portrait on the HUD) alters interactions with the Stress Status Effect. The Light Bearer at the start of the match is the Obsession, but who holds the torch changes as the match progresses.
The Light Bearer themself has permanently halved Stress passive progression, and while another Survivor is within 4 meters of them, that Survivor also has halved passive progression. Additionally, while the Light Bearer is healing a Survivor, that Survivor gains no Stress passively at all.
Performing a cooperative action with the Light Bearer will reverse the passive progression of Stress to instead be regression, with an inverted modifier depending on how many Survivors are injured, Downed, Hooked, or Dead (1.2 per second if no Survivors are injured, 0.3 if all are).
When the Light Bearer is Downed or grabbed, a period of “no light” is entered. While there is no light, Survivors cannot lose Stress. This period lasts until the once-Light Bearer is brought back to either the injured or healthy state, which will also result in the Survivor who brought them back into one of those states becoming the new Light Bearer (it will still be them if they pick themselves up with Unbreakable/unhook themselves with Deliverance). If the once-Light Bearer dies, all Survivors gain 25 Stress, but 1 other random Survivor then becomes the new Light Bearer.
Hand of Nox
The Malebranche digs its claws into the Realm, and bends it to its will. By holding the Power Button, the Malebranche slows to 3.4 m/s (85%). After 1 second of holding the Power Button, a Hand of Nox appears at your current location. After another 0.3 seconds, you return to normal speed and the Hand of Nox activates.
The Hand of Nox forms a gravitational well that gradually increases in strength as it lasts. Originally, it slows Survivors by 5% while they’re within 8 meters of it and moving away from it, before growing to slowing them by 85% by the end of its full 5 second duration.
Hand of Nox has 3 charges, 1 of which recharging after 20 seconds. This cooldown is reduced by 1 second for each Level of Stress amongst all Survivors.
Screams from Beyond
By holding the Active Ability Button for 2 seconds, the Malebranche will see the entire Realm go pitch black, except for the Survivors, who are revealed in white. The Malebranche moves at 9.2 m/s (230%) while in this state, and can move through all obstacles. Survivors make no noise and appear indistinguishable from each other while the Malebranche is in this state.
By holding the Active Ability Button for 5 seconds while within 8 meters of a Survivor, that Survivor will be trapped in an 6-meter radius cage with 16 doors surrounding them. The Malebranche is pushed out of the cage’s radius when it’s created, and may walk into any of these doors (which are revealed to it) to cause that door to swing open, with darkness pouring out of it and an ear-piercing scream to be heard from it.
The cage and all other doors making it up disappear, and the Survivor may run from the Malebranche as it climbs out from the open door after 2.2 seconds. After this, that Survivor gains 22 Stress.
For each Level of Stress a trapped Survivor has, 1 additional random door swings open when the Malebranche begins to climb out. Multiple Survivors can be caught in the cage at once, and if they are, ALL of their Stress Levels contribute to the number of open doors.
This has a cooldown of 60 seconds, which is reduced by 3 seconds for each Stress Level a Survivor has. This is NOT on cooldown for the Malebranche at the start of a Trial.
Addons
Common
- Iron Dust: Survivors gain 0.1 less Stress passively per second. Each time a Survivor raises a Level in Stress, gain 200 bonus Bloodpoints.
- Still Water: When a Survivor with Stress Level 1 or higher heals another Survivor, both are afflicted with a 10% Hindered Status Effect for 10 seconds.
- Snapped Meathook: When a Survivor is unhooked, the Stress lost on each Survivor is reduced by 2, or if that Survivor(s) is in chase when the unhook occurs, the Stress lost is reduced by 4, instead.
- Illegible Scripture: A Survivor(s) trapped in Screams from Beyond is afflicted with the Blindness Status Effect for 30 seconds.
Uncommon
- Punctured Tire: The Light Bearer gains Stress passively at a doubled rate.
- Scripted Insanity: A Survivor(s) trapped in Screams from Beyond gains Stress passively at a tripled rate for 10 seconds.
- Spiral Eye Socket: Whenever a Survivor is put into the Dying State, all Survivors within 4 meters of a Dull or Hex Totem immediately gain 5.5 Stress.
- Nikki’s Satchel: Whenever a generator is completed, all Survivors within 8 meters of it immediately gain 5.5 Stress.
- Murf’s Severed Hand: Whenever the Malebranche’s aura is revealed to a Survivor, that Survivor gains Stress passively 5x faster for the duration of the aura’s reveal. When the Light Bearer is put into the Dying State, the Malebranche is granted the Undetectable Status Effect for 30 seconds.
Rare
- Wheat Bushel: After emerging from a door with Screams from Beyond, gain a 5% Haste Status Effect for 5 seconds.
- Swirling Concoction: When a Survivor reaches Stress Level 3, all Survivors scream, revealing their locations for 4 seconds.
- Pestilent Seed: While Screams from Beyond is not recharging, Hand of Nox's charges recharge 25% faster.
- Conjoined Corpse: When 2 or more Survivors are caught in Screams from Beyond, all of those Survivors gain 2.75 additional Stress for each Survivor caught.
- Warping Script: When a Survivor reaches Stress Level 3, all Generators are blocked by the Entity for 16 seconds.
Very Rare
- Void Fractal: When a Survivor is Hooked, all Survivors with Stress Level 2 or greater have their Aura revealed for 4 seconds.
- Dylan’s Left Foot: Survivors at Stress Level 1 or greater have 100% louder footsteps.
- Shambling Husk: Survivors at Stress Level 3 cause all Survivors within 16 meters of them to passively gain 1.2 additional Stress per second.
- Blooming Pestilence: While Hand of Nox has all of its charges, Screams from Beyond recharges 35% faster.
Ultra Rare
- Misa’s Proposal: Whenever a Generator is completed, Screams from Beyond immediately recharges. When the Exit Gates are powered, all Survivors immediately gain maximum Stress, and can no longer lower their Stress.
- Paradox Droplet: Whenever the last of Hand of Nox’s 3 charges are used, it doesn’t slow Survivors down. Instead, if a Survivor is within 8 meters of it when it activates, they are afflicted with the Exposed Status Effect for 8 seconds. Hand of Nox takes 50% longer to charge while it has no remaining charges.
The Malebranche’s Teachable Perks
- Stagnant Air
The air grows thick and still around monuments of your desecration.
Survivors within 4/6/8 meters of any non-Blessed Totem are afflicted with the Incapacitated Status Effect.
- The Auras of Totems within 4 meters of any Survivor are revealed to that Survivor.
- Survivors Incapacitated by Stagnant Air may still Cleanse or Bless Totems.
- The Status Effect lingers for another 10 seconds after a Survivor leaves the radius.
“The heavy cloud of dread follows it… clings to its surroundings.” - Ariana Misa
(Notes on Stagnant Air: this perk will likely be best on Killers with a slow early game, who benefit heavily from stalling that won’t cause Survivors to move around too much. I think of Trapper, Hag, Shape, and Ghost Face first and foremost. All Killers can get use out of it, but its map dependency would likely make it less of a stellar choice compared to Lethal Pursuer or Corrupt Intervention on non-setup Killers.)
- Hex: Clamoring Grasp
A Hex that infects the psyche of those who try to dig deeper.
When a Survivor completes a Cleansing or Unhooking action, Hex: Clamoring Grasp gains +1 Token, up to a maximum of 5 Tokens.
- When a Survivor is hit by a Basic Attack while Hex: Clamoring Grasp has at least 1 Token, that Survivor becomes afflicted with the Cursed Status Effect.
Any Survivor Cursed by Hex: Clamoring Grasp that stops repairing a Generator before it is fully repaired causes the Entity to block the Generator for 6/8/10 seconds. After the generator becomes unblocked, it instantly regresses by 3% of its maximum possible Progression for each Token, up to a maximum of 15%.
- Blocked Generators are highlighted by a white Aura.
- The time Generators are blocked by Hex: Clamoring Grasp does not stack.
- Normal Generator Regression applies afterwards.
All effects of the Hex Perk persist until its Hex Totem is cleansed or blessed.
“Once it digs its claws into you, it won’t let go.” - Ariana Misa
(Notes on Hex: Clamoring Grasp: Extremely strong on Killers who can use Special Attacks to get downs and stack up Tokens, before then using Basic Attacks to apply the Curse and slow the game down once the midgame is reached. Nemesis in particular has amazing synergy with the strategy of delaying the activation of this perk. M1 Killers in general will benefit from this perk, while M2 Killers such as Nurse or Huntress may not get any use from it at all. Additionally, by “does not stack”, it is meant that Clamoring Grasp will not stack with itself OR any other perk that blocks generators.)
- Hex: Disembodied Stares
A Hex that watches. A Hex that learns.
Whenever a Survivor is put into the Dying State, Hex: Disembodied Stares gains 1 Token, up to 3/4/5 Tokens.
Whenever a Generator is completed, if there is still a Dull Totem remaining on the Map and Hex: Disembodied Stares has at least 1 Token, Hex: Disembodied Stares loses -1 Token, activates and lights that Dull Totem:
- Survivors that have cleansed or blessed a Totem have their Aura revealed to you for 15 seconds.
- Shortens the duration of a Survivor’s Aura reading effects by -1 second.
- Lengthens the duration of your Aura reading effects by +1 second.
- 1 other random Totem is permanently blocked by the Entity. If a blocked Dull Totem becomes a Hex Totem by any means, it is unblocked and cannot be blocked by Hex: Disembodied Stares.
Hex: Disembodied Stares benefits from its own effect.
All effects of the Hex Perk persist until its Hex Totem is cleansed or blessed.
“This is just a hypothetical, but if it comes back into contact with what it came from… it may just end the world.” - Ariana Misa
(Notes on Hex: Disembodied Stares: Definitely more gimmicky than the other Perks this Killer has, but has fun synergy with other aura reading / Hex Perks. Encourages cleansing but also grows in strength when Survivors do. Killers that would benefit most from such a potentially lethal information perk are Nurse and Blight (of course), but Huntress may also enjoy the stack-able Lethal Pursuer effect, and forcing cleansing would synergize with Pentimento. The reason so many restrictions are on the Totem-blocking effect is to 1. Prevent unbreakable Disembodied Stares blocks, and 2. Prevent Disembodied Stares blocking NOED or some other silliness like that.)
Survivor: Ariana Misa
Survivor Data
Body Type: Feminine
Other: Misa’s sound effects aren’t really notable in either direction; her breathing and injured sounds both are close to the mean in comparison to other Survivors’ sounds. Her cosmetics would tend toward white and other light colors, making her not ideal for stealth.
Ariana Misa’s Teachable Perks
- Researcher
You bring your knowledge of the supernatural with you into the Fog.
- After performing a Rush Vault action within 8 meters of the Killer, the Killer’s Aura is revealed to you for 6 seconds.
- Researcher grants the ability to rummage through an opened Chest once per Trial and will guarantee a Faded Parish Book, with a 100% chance to have an Add-on of Uncommon Rarity of lower.
Researcher has a cool-down of 28/24/20 seconds after performing a Rush Vault action or rummaging.
“You get to sense a pattern… everything abides by the same rules, even if at first it seems contradictory to them.” - Ariana Misa
(Notes on Researcher: Not overly strong, definitely not meta defining, but could be useful to cleanse a harmful status effect in a pinch. The info also definitely doesn’t hurt.)
- Boon: Full Moon
You’ve learned to pierce through the fog that chokes others.
Press and hold the Active Ability button on a Dull or Hex Totem to bless it and create a Boon Totem.
Soft chimes ring out in a radius of 24 meters.
All Survivors benefit from the following effects when inside the Boon Totem’s radius:
- The radius of the Survivor’s Boon Totem is increased by 4/6/8 meters.
- Increases your Recovery rate from the Blindness, Broken, Exhaustion, Exposed, Haemorrhage, Hindered, Mangled, and Oblivious Status Effects by 40%.
Survivors can only be affected by one instance of Boon: Full Moon at a time.
The effects of Boon: Full Moon do not stack.
Only one Totem can be blessed by your Boon Perks at a time and all of their effects are active on the same Boon Totem.
“Guide your own way.” - Ariana Misa
(Notes on Boon: Full Moon: Strong at countering certain perks, and makes the recent Mangled nerf feel even more impactful. Further, near-constant upkeep of exhaustion perks is HUGE. Definitely not a bad perk for a Boon build on a SWF, especially since it extends the range of its own Boon while the Survivor who set it up is in its radius.)
- Boon: Resonation With Night
Enough is known of this place to connect with it, and you know how to do more than just that. You’ve learned how to bargain with it.
Press and hold the Active Ability button on a Dull or Hex Totem to bless it and create a Boon Totem.
Soft chimes ring out in a radius of 24 meters.
All Survivors benefit from the following effects when inside the Boon Totem’s radius:
- Halts a hooked Survivor’s Sacrifice Progress for the next 70/80/90 seconds after they’re hooked or this Boon Totem is placed.
- If the hooked Survivor has already entered the Struggle Phase, its Skill Checks are paused for that duration.
- If a Survivor is Injured, their Action speeds in Repairing, Healing, Cleansing, and Blessing are increased by 8%.
While a Survivor is hooked within the Boon Totem’s radius, Boon: Resonation With Night reveals the Aura of its Boon Totem to the Killer within 4 meters and gradually expands that range to 24 meters over the course of 30 seconds.
Survivors can only be affected by one instance of Boon: Resonation With Night at a time.
Only one Totem can be blessed by your Boon Perks at a time and all of their effects are active on the same Boon Totem.
“It isn’t here to hurt only us. It wants to see the Beasts suffer just as much as we do.” - Ariana Misa
(Notes on Boon: Resonation With Night: This perk does mark the Survivor with a white highlight, just like Reassurance does. Innate anti-synergy with other strong Boons like Circle of Healing and Full Moon, as it encourages being placed close to a hook the Killer is likely to use. Further, revealing itself to the Killer makes it trivially easy to snuff out, but the Killer doing so does buy just enough time to save the Survivor currently stuck in transit due to this perk’s whopping 90 second pause time on hook progress. The action speed buff, in contrast, isn’t massive and mostly serves as a second small effect rather than the main selling point. The mini-Resilience definitely doesn’t hurt, though, especially when stacking this with Boon: Circle of Healing (despite the anti-synergy).)
Realm: The Void
Map: “Detention”
Size: Approximately 9,750 m^2; compare in shape and size to Mother’s Dwelling
Main Structure:
- On the top left side of the map, a large well ~30 meters in radius is surrounded by many small 2-story structures and pillars. One generator will spawn on the top of one of these smaller structures around the well, while the other will spawn against the wall of the well itself. Loops around this structure are strong, but often not immediately connected to anything else. The area outside of the circle these structures make is also entirely barren and open, making transferring between the rest of the map and the well incredibly dangerous.
- Killer Shack: The killer shack is present on the opposite side of the map as the well, also in a corner. It connects to some weak loops occasionally, but seldom creates loops like the old Cowshed or anything.
Openness:
- A relatively open map, but the side of the map with the well has more than enough line of sight blockers to balance ranged Killers and to give some strength to stealth Killers.
Item: Parish Book
Initial Notes: Parish Books CANNOT remove permanent effects. For example, The Shape in Tier III will still be able to instantly down a Healthy Survivor, even if they attempt to use the Rare Book of Hymns to remove the Exposed Status Effect afflicting them. Additionally, a sound effect plays when a page is torn, telling both other Survivors and the Killer that a page has been used. A Survivor may NOT use a page to cure another Survivor of a status effect unless they drop the book and the other Survivor picks it up.
Uncommon: Faded Parish Book
A thin red book, with only a few pages left untorn. Most words in it are faded and illegible.
Tearing a page from the book sends a wave of euphoria through the holder.
- Press the Use Item button to trigger the Page Tear ability.
- This removes one of the following Status Effects afflicting you with the shortest current duration: the Blindness, Hemorrhage, or Oblivious Status Effect.
- Has 3 charges.
Rare: Book of Hymns
A black book, with only a few pages left untorn. A few scattered lines from Biblical hymns can be read on the pages left in it.
Tearing a page from the book sends a wave of euphoria through the holder.
- Press the Use Item button to trigger the Page Tear ability.
- This removes one of the following Status Effects afflicting you with the shortest current duration: the Broken, Exhausted, Exposed, Hindered, or Mangled Status Effect.
- Has 2 charges.
Ultra Rare: Misa’s Journal
A pale book, with many pages in it left untorn. Organized notes regarding various unnatural phenomena riddle its pages. The last page is blank, except for the words “Misa’s Proposal” on the top.
Tearing a page from the book sends a wave of euphoria through the holder.
- Press the Use Item button to trigger the Page Tear ability.
- This removes all of the following Status Effects afflicting you: the Blindness, Hemorrhage, and Oblivious Status Effects.
- This also removes one of the following Status Effects afflicting you with the shortest current duration: the Broken, Exhausted, Exposed, Hindered, or Mangled Status Effect.
- Reduces the speed at which the Page Tear ability can be used by 20%.
- Has 4 charges.
Add-ons
Common
- Blank Page: Each time a charge is used, ALL Status Effects affecting you for a set duration have that duration reduced by 6 seconds.
- Masking Tape: Page Tear removes the Status Effect with the longest duration, rather than the one with the shortest.
Uncommon
- Thick Spine: Gives 1 extra charge. Increases the time it takes to Page Tear by 15%.
- Invisible Ink: The sound effect caused by Page Tear is suppressed.
Rare
- Gold-Plated Cover: When the last charge is spent, see the Auras of all other Survivors for 30 seconds.
Very Rare
- Silver-Plated Cover: When the last charge is spent, see the Aura of the Killer for 15 seconds.
- Page of the Necronomicon: Each time a charge is used, gain a 5% Haste Status Effect for 5 seconds. For 5 seconds after you lose your Haste, you are afflicted with the Exposed Status Effect.
Ultra Rare
Scarlet Ink: Each time a charge is used while within 16 meters of the Killer, a random one of the following Status Effects affecting the Killer is disabled for 10 seconds: the Bloodlust, Haste, or Undetectable Status Effect.
Comments
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Thanks for the response; a lot of strange things have been going on with the forums lately it seems, I haven't been able to open my saved drafts for over a month.
I don't really see how this Killer relies too much on its add-ons, as most of them are pretty minor. Although, Snapped Meathook (I assume you meant that add-on rather than Still Water since Still Water is pretty gimmicky) is very strong and likely among the Malebranche's top 3 add-ons, it is a Common add-on and only really enables more Stress without increasing chase potency.
I do see though how Stress is undone pretty easily by Survivors just playing the game, while it takes awhile to accumulate. I'll tweak both Meathook and the base kit to accomodate. For ease of access, those changes are:
Basekit:
- The Stress lost from a Survivor being unhooked is now only 8.25; a 25% nerf from the original (11).
Snapped Meathook:
- The Stress lost when an unhook occurs is reduced by 2 (originally 3), or 4 (originally 8) if that Survivor(s) is in a chase when the unhook occurs.
Misa's Proposal is intentionally pretty strong, but I'd compare it more to Plague's Iridescent add-on that also activates whenever a generator is completed than Blight's add-ons; Blight's add-ons, especially old Alchemist Ring and Compound 33, are incomparable to all but the most absurd things. Misa's Proposal, on the other hand, gives a lot of Stress and map mobility but doesn't strengthen lethality at all.
I've also changed "Evil Claws" to "Hand of Nox", with a whole new effect that should be more interesting; I know you didn't bring it up here, but others on another platform mentioned the old power being akin to Doctor, which wasn't the intention. Let me know what you think of it!
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