Curses

“Make no mistake about it, sins are shackles.”
—Anonymous
Curses are intangible powers highly prevalent in the Destroy the Godmodder series. Throughout Destroy the Godmodder and Destroy the Godmodder 2, they were seen as concepts used in godmodding that project negative effects onto the Battlefield, affecting the Anti-Godmodders and their entities. Typical examples include the Curse of Repetitiveness, Curse of Entities, and Curse of Charging. Curses don't qualify as entities because they're abstract, and as such, can't be destroyed directly. The Curses of low-level godmodders can be, but only through suitably abstract methods.

The Curse of Repetitiveness, arguably the most common Curse, makes it so an attack will never work more than once against a godmodder and that the more a certain attack, item, or entity is used, the weaker it will get. Pro-Godmodders are affected by this to a negligible extent, but the entities the godmodder summons aren't. In fact, they will get stronger with each summon.

Following DTG2, however, the definition was expanded massively. Curses are now seen as abstract symbols that command an entire concept, with godmodding being only one use of their power. Other Curses include the Aspects of Homestuck and the symbols on Bill Cipher's Zodiac. Some beings, such as the Order, are named after a Curse, and they have complete mastery over their respective symbol. It is seemingly possible for one to obtain the Curses of such entities and use them.

Description

As Curses aren't actual tangible objects, they are very rarely seen directly, with only images of them existing (or just the direct results of their power). Some Curses, such as the aforementioned Curses of the Order, are typographical symbols, and are able to held, where they are described as barely existing, and are typically colored in such a way that they blend into the background of the webpage. The Scribe has been shown to burn these Curses onto his skin and gain mimics of their power. It is unknown if the same can be done with every Curse.

Whoever holds a Curse is capable of commanding the entirety of its power, as the powers are directly tied to the Curse itself. For example, any Time player in Homestuck has complete mastery over time, and anyone with an Octothorpe has mastery over ink. In the case of the Zodiac, which is dictated entirely by Curses, it seems that these Curses control who the people they represent are, as evidenced by Snakeeyes' description of them.

As shown in Destroy the Godmodder 0rigins, it seems that Curses can only be destroyed by incredibly abstract means, such as manipulating the typographical symbol of the Curse into another symbol so that it loses the original power it held. It is unknown if this works for every Curse.

Godmodding Curses

Godmodding Curses are Curses commonly used by godmodders throughout their battles with other beings. Godmodding Curses typically inflict effects throughout the entire battlefield that negatively impact a godmodder's combatants. They only last for a specific timeframe, but higher-level godmodders can keep them going for years, potentially the entire span of a battle. As the symbols linked to Godmodding Curses are entirely metaphysical, they cannot be directly interacted with, and as such, they cannot be dispelled. Several Godmodding Curses are also representations of important godmodding mechanics, such as the OP Scale.

Curse of Repetitiveness

The Curse of Repetitiveness is the first and most notable example of a Curse in the Destroy the Godmodder series. It prevents attacks, entities, strategies, and charges from working repeatedly. Each successive time they are used, their power will greatly diminish until it means nothing. This Curse is the reason why charges will keep lessening in power the more a player uses them, why entities typically can't be resummoned upon death, why an attack that damages the Godmodder won't work a second time, and why attacks such as nukes or /bans will never work - they're completely unoriginal and repetitive, as everyone has thought of them already. The Curse of Repetitiveness affects Anti-Godmodder and Neutral players the most, and it can affect Pro-Godmodder players to a limited degree. The Godmodder is, naturally, immune to it.

The Curse of Repetitiveness's symbol is ™, lampshading the fact that the Curse is typically referred to as "the Curse of Repetitiveness™." The concept it commands is circumstantial simultaneity, the principle of nothing being new in Fiction, and how "it's all happened before," and at the "same time" due to time shenanigans.

Curse of the OP Scale

The Curse of the OP Scale controls the OP Scale. The OP Scale is a metaphysical scale that judges the power level of any and all attacks, entities, and other such forces in the Destroy the Godmodder series. If an attack is deemed to be not overpowered (it is able to exist on the OP Scale), then the Scale will simply gauge its power. However, if an attack is deemed to be too powerful in that it exceeds the maximum limit of power represented by the OP Scale, the OP Scale is said to "roll over," effectively bringing the attack's power down to zero, nullifying it entirely. This can also apply to entities. Nearly every godmodder, regardless of their place on the Godmodding Ladder, is somewhere just under the OP Scale's upper limit at all times, so they can never roll it over.

The Curse of the OP Scale's symbol is º, lampshading the fact that it measures the degree of power that an attack or entity carries. The concept it commands is power, specifically, the measurement of power, as shown through the OP Scale itself.

Curse of Anti-Entities

The Curse of Anti-Entities is a high-level Curse typically activated by a godmodder when they're on their last legs. It prevents the Anti-Godmodders (and players of all factions) from summoning any entities, and it also typically destroys any player-summoned entities currently on the field, while making sure that the godmodder that casted the Curse can continue to summon entities. This Curse is usually used so that the godmodder can take the power of every entity and use it to create an entity of their own, like a final boss. This power can also be used to fight back metachronistic flux.

The Curse of Anti-Entities' symbol is ö. The concept it commands is entities, defined by the Source Code of Reality as "combatants in wars," showing how the Curse can limit the summoning of entities, convert entities into raw power, and be used to fuel the creation of a super-entity akin to a final boss.

Curse of Anti-Charging

The Curse of Anti-Charging is another high-level Curse used by godmodders when they're at low health and are near death. It prevents the Anti-Godmodders (and players of all factions) from creating any new charges, and from using any charges they may have had stockpiled, while making sure that the godmodder that casted the Curse can continue to do whatever they want. The Curse is usually used to cut the players off from one of their most valuable damage outputs.

The Curse of Anti-Charging's symbol is §. The concept it commands is charging, defined by the Source Code of Reality as "withholding normal attacks to build up great power," showing how the Curse can limit the creation and usage of charges.

Curse of Vulnerability

The Curse of Vulnerability is yet another high-level Curse typically used when a godmodder is in danger of dying, or at least wants to raise the stakes in their fight against Anti-Godmodders. It should typically be saved as a last resort. The Curse, which mimics the harsh wind blowing through the Void, is capable of giving previously-invulnerable figures an actual HP bar, making them able to take damage and potentially die. It is universally used to give all Descendants HP, although death usually comes without much punishment (a simple post made saying that the deceased player respawns tends to suffice). This Curse can also be used by the Glitch and by the Void itself.

The Curse of Vulnerability's symbol is ø. It seems to command, in some part, the inevitability of death, or at least the harsh reality of oblivion, as represented by the forces capable of using it, the Glitch and the Void.

Curse of the Grave

The Curse of the Grave is a Curse related to the HP/Defense Gap. It controls the fact that godmodders are physically unable to regain their lost HP, a constant facet of godmodding since even the Psi-Godmodding War. Only when a godmodder is truly at the end of their ropes (somewhere around 1 HP) can the Curse of the Grave be broken. Even then, however, the godmodder can only regain their health through a regeneration spell spanning several turns, during which time they will be completely defenseless unless they summon some kind of defense before activating the spell. The Curse of the Grave also dictates that, if a godmodder suffers a particularly harsh death ingame, their real self will also suffer damage and potentially die as well. This seems to be how every godmodder killed by the Godmodder ended up in Limbo.

The Curse of the Grave's symbol is `, a grave accent, lampshading the Curse's fixation on death. It seems to command the inevitability of death, like the Curse of Vulnerability.

Curse of Trials

The Curse of Trials is a curse related to the Trials. It is only meant to be used when a godmodder is close to death, taking up the last of their power and arranging it into a series of challenges that must be broken through in order for the Anti-Godmodders to have a chance at damaging the godmodder further and killing him. These challenges, known as the Trials, are designed to incredibly difficult and complex, and the godmodder that created them can only be damaged by the completion of one of these trials, as dictated by "the ancient rules."

The Curse of Trials' symbol is Ξ. The symbol's multi-layered imagery represents the multiple challenges faced during the Trials. It seems to command challenges and trials.

Curses of the Godmodding Ladder

The Curse of Alpha, Curse of Beta, Curse of Gamma, Curse of Delta, Curse of Omega, and Curse of Psi are all collectively known as the Curses of the Godmodding Ladder. They represent the different power levels that godmodders can occupy on the Godmodding Ladder. The Curse of Alpha corresponds to Alpha and Alpha+ Tier, the two lowest tiers that represent the beginning of the godmodding journey. The Curse of Beta corresponds to Beta and Beta+ Tier, the second-lowest tiers that represent growing confidence in the godmodding journey. The Curse of Gamma corresponds to Gamma and Gamma+ Tier, the middle tiers that represent a firm grasp of power in the godmodding journey. The Curse of Delta corresponds to Delta Tier, the penultimate tier that represents nigh-ultimate power. The Curse of Omega corresponds to Omega Tier, the final tier representing the end of the godmodding journey. The Curse of Psi, an outlier, corresponds to the Psi Tier, only given to the two Psi-Godmodders.

The Curses of the Godmodding Ladder's symbols are α, β, γ, δ, Ω, and ψ, each obviously representing the name of the tier that they correspond to.