Bellatrix's Correction Sessions (Bellatrix's Blessing)

Location & Access

Where: Graveyard → Bellatrix's Favors menu

Navigation: graveyard.php → "Bellatrix's Favors" → "Receive Bellatrix's Blessing"

Prerequisites: blesscost favor (default: 500). Must have enough death power.

Availability: Once per VE. Cannot re-bless until the dragonkilltext hook resets status at VE.

Bellatrix's Introduction

The Setting: You report to `4Bellatrix`), who is "looking up from an incident report she has not been filling out," in an unused wing of Azkaban she has decorated herself, badly, gleefully -- her own old cell, redecorated, because Records could not identify anyone else on staff qualified to guard it. The Detention Office calls her the "Senior Enrichment Specialist." She calls it "fun," is reminded the approved word on the form is "enrichment," writes "fun" anyway, and underlines it.

The Pitch: "A persistent little wizard," she breathes, with terrible tenderness, already circling you. "Hold still. I shall improve you, the way a hammer improves a nail, the way a storm improves a roof. Perhaps it helps you in the waking realm. Perhaps it does something I haven't tried yet (ooh), one never knows with a Correction Session. That is the best part."

You then choose where to submit for correction: your robes or your wand.

The Two Blessing Choices

Option 1: Submit Your Robes for Correction (Defense)

The Session: Bellatrix "turns your shabby robes over in her hands with the disdain of a woman who has read the dress-code form, memorized it, and is itching to enforce it," and sets to work carving a word into your robes -- and, where the robes give out, into you -- with a knife she is "definitely not licensed for." A mid-carve interdepartmental memo changes what she's allowed to write, twice.

Blessing Success (99% chance by default):

• Line: "You survived the session. Mostly. Per the paperwork I must now resentfully complete in triplicate ... you are statistically more dangerous."
• Buff Name: "<Deathoverlord>'s Dark-Blessed Robes"
• Defense Bonus: flat +25% defense (defmod 1.25) — hardcoded, does not decay
• Damageshield: reflects a share of incoming damage equal to the current multiplier (starts at basemultiplier, default 1.0, and decays over subsequent newdays — see Decay below)
• Rounds: -1 (infinite, lasts until the dragonkilltext hook fires)

Curse Failure (1% chance by default):

• Line: "An enrichment session is, the form is at pains to note, not guaranteed to be enriching. Sometimes the correction takes a turn."
• Curse Name: "<Deathoverlord>'s Cursed Robes"
• Defense Penalty: defmod set to the curse multiplier (starts at cursemultiplier, default 0.8, i.e. -20% defense) and creeps back toward 1.0 over subsequent newdays — see Recovery below
• Enemy Buff: flat +25% enemy attack (badguyatkmod 1.25) — hardcoded, does not decay
• Rounds: -1 (infinite, lasts until the dragonkilltext hook fires)

Option 2: Submit Your Wand for Correction (Attack)

The Session: Bellatrix inspects "the puny wand you hand her" and laughs "a laugh that makes a banshee somewhere cover its ears," then sets to work carving a word into the grain of the wand -- a word she will not be allowed to keep.

Blessing Success (99% chance by default):

• Line: "You survived. Per the paperwork, statistically more dangerous. Death is the only truly sustainable form of fun."
• Buff Name: "<Deathoverlord>'s Dark-Blessed Wand"
• Attack Bonus: flat +25% attack (atkmod 1.25) — hardcoded, does not decay
• Lifetap: heals you off a share of damage dealt equal to the current multiplier (starts at basemultiplier, default 1.0, and decays over subsequent newdays — see Decay below)
• Rounds: -1 (infinite, lasts until the dragonkilltext hook fires)

Curse Failure (1% chance by default):

• Line: "Perhaps this makes you stronger when you next awaken. Perhaps it turns your hair green and makes you speak only in limericks. I genuinely cannot tell you which."
• Curse Name: "<Deathoverlord>'s Cursed Wand"
• Attack Penalty: atkmod set to the curse multiplier (starts at cursemultiplier, default 0.8, i.e. -20% attack) and creeps back toward 1.0 over subsequent newdays — see Recovery below
• Enemy Buff: flat +25% enemy defense (badguydefmod 1.25) — hardcoded, does not decay
• Rounds: -1 (infinite, lasts until the dragonkilltext hook fires)

Decay & Recovery System

Note first: the flat +25% attack/defense bonus is hardcoded and never moves. Everything below only affects the damageshield/lifetap portion of a blessing, or the stat penalty of a curse -- both tracked by a single shared "currmultiplier" preference.

How Decay Works (Blessings)

Initial Power: The damageshield/lifetap multiplier starts at basemultiplier (default: 1.0, i.e. a full 100% reflect/lifetap share).

First Day: The day you receive the blessing is a free pass -- the "firstday" flag simply gets cleared on the next newday with no decay applied.

Decay Formula (from the second newday onward): While the multiplier is above 0.2, it drops by basemultiplier/7 each newday (roughly -0.14 per day at default settings). Once it's at or below 0.2, it instead shrinks by 25% each newday (multiplier × 0.75). It is floored at 0.01 and never actually reaches zero -- Bellatrix's dark magic is a stubborn stain, not a light switch.

Blessing Decay Example (basemultiplier = 1.0, defaults):

Newday	Multiplier	Damageshield / Lifetap Share	Robes Defense Bonus	Wand Attack Bonus
1st (day of blessing, or first newday after — "firstday" no-op)	1.0	100%	+25% def	+25% atk
2nd	0.86	86%	+25% def	+25% atk
3rd	0.72	72%	+25% def	+25% atk
4th	0.58	58%	+25% def	+25% atk
5th	0.44	44%	+25% def	+25% atk
6th	0.30	30%	+25% def	+25% atk
7th	0.16	16% (drops below the 0.2 threshold, switches decay mode)	+25% def	+25% atk
8th	0.12	12% (×0.75 tier now)	+25% def	+25% atk
9th+	keeps ×0.75/day, floor 0.01	trending toward ~1%, never 0%	+25% def	+25% atk

The core +25% bonus never changes. Only the reflect/lifetap share shrinks, and it asymptotically approaches (but never reaches) zero, since VE will reset it via the dragonkilltext hook long before the math would matter.

How Recovery Works (Curses)

Initial Penalty: The stat-penalty multiplier starts at cursemultiplier (default: 0.8, i.e. -20% to the cursed stat) plus a flat +25% enemy buff.

First Day: Same free pass as blessings -- the "firstday" flag clears on the next newday with no recovery applied yet.

Recovery Formula (from the second newday onward): The multiplier increases by curserate/100 each newday (default curserate = 1, i.e. +0.01, or +1 percentage point of your stat, per day), capped at 0.99. It never reaches 1.0 -- there is always at least a 1% penalty until VE.

Curse Recovery Example (cursemultiplier = 0.8, curserate = 1, defaults):

Newday	Multiplier	Your Penalty	Enemy Buff
1st (day of curse, or first newday after — "firstday" no-op)	0.80	-20% stat	+25% enemy
2nd	0.81	-19% stat	+25% enemy
3rd	0.82	-18% stat	+25% enemy
10th	0.89	-11% stat	+25% enemy
~20th	~0.99 (cap)	-1% stat	+25% enemy

IMPORTANT: At default settings, recovery is roughly +1 percentage point per day -- it takes about 19 days to approach the 0.99 cap, and the stat penalty never fully disappears. The +25% enemy buff (badguyatkmod / badguydefmod) is hardcoded and does NOT decay or recover at all; it lasts, unchanged, until the dragonkilltext hook resets everything at VE.

VE Reset (Dragonkill)

Trigger: the dragonkilltext hook, fired on a successful dragon kill (VE reset)

Effect: if you were blessed or cursed, these prefs reset:

• bellatrixblessed = 0
• bellatrixcursed = 0
• bellatrixarmor = 0
• bellatrixweapon = 0
• currmultiplier = 0

Message: "You catch a very faint cackling on the air: the distant, fond laughter of a deranged witch who finds other people's misfortune the funniest thing in the world. It fades as you turn to look, leaving behind the firm impression that somewhere, someone has just thought of you and is already filling out a form about it."

Consequence: Must pay blesscost favor again (default 500) to re-bless equipment next VE. Blessing/curse doesn't carry over.

Strategy Implication: Since the +25% core bonus never decays anyway, the main reason to bless early rather than late is simply to get more days out of the (slowly shrinking) damageshield/lifetap share before the next dragon kill wipes it. Don't bless right before you plan to kill the dragon -- it's wasted favor either way.

Probability & Risk Analysis

Blessing vs Curse Odds

Outcome	Probability	Expected Occurrences (100 attempts)
Successful Blessing	99%	99 times
Cursed Instead	1%	1 time

Expected Value Analysis:

• 99% chance: Get a permanent +25% atk or def, plus a damageshield/lifetap share that starts at basemultiplier and gradually shrinks (never to zero) until VE
• 1% chance: Get a stat penalty that starts at cursemultiplier and only crawls back (never fully recovering), plus a permanent +25% enemy buff, until VE
• Expected outcome: Almost always positive -- but note a curse doesn't just weaken the bonus, it replaces the +25% on that stat with an actual penalty. Still, a 1% curse risk is low against a 99% blessing chance.

Is Cursing Worth the Fear?

No. 1% is very low. Statistically, you'll be cursed once every 100 blessings. Most players never get cursed.

If You Get Cursed:

• Don't panic, but don't expect quick relief either -- recovery is roughly +1 percentage point per newday at default settings.
• Early days: Still near the full -20% stat penalty plus the enemy's permanent +25%. Avoid hard fights (dragon, high-level PvP).
• After a couple of weeks: Penalty has crawled up toward its ~-1% floor, but the enemy's +25% buff never goes away.
• Only VE (a dragon kill) fully clears a curse.

Alternative: Admin can set cursechance to 0 (no curse risk). Check server settings.

Strategy

Robes vs Wand: Which to Bless?

Bless Robes (Defense + Damageshield) if:

• You fight high-damage enemies (dragon, tough forest creatures)
• You struggle with survivability
• Damageshield appeals to you -- a permanent +25% defense, plus a reflect share that starts at 100% of the multiplier and gradually tapers off
• You prefer defensive playstyle

Bless Wand (Attack + Lifetap) if:

• You want faster kills (more damage = quicker fights)
• Lifetap healing is valuable to you -- a permanent +25% attack, plus a heal share that starts at 100% of the multiplier and gradually tapers off
• You have good defense already (equipment, buffs)
• You prefer aggressive playstyle

General Recommendation: Wand (attack) slightly better for most players. Faster kills = less damage taken overall. Lifetap provides healing early on. Offense is best defense.

When to Get Blessed

Best Timing:

• Early VE: Get blessing soon after reset. The permanent +25% bonus is yours for the rest of the VE either way; getting blessed early just means more days with a strong damageshield/lifetap share too.
• Pre-Dragon Fight: The +25% core bonus applies from day one and never fades, so there's no rush purely for that. The damageshield/lifetap share is strongest in the first several days if that matters for your build.
• Have 500+ Favor: Don't spend last favor on blessing. Keep reserves for resurrections, other graveyard services.

When to Avoid:

• Right before you plan to kill the dragon (will reset via the dragonkilltext hook, wasted favor)
• If you have < 500 favor (can't afford it)
• If you're already blessed or cursed (can't re-bless until VE reset)

Maximizing Blessing Value

1. First week or so: Damageshield/lifetap share is at its strongest (roughly 85%+ for the first couple of newdays, tapering from there). The +25% core bonus is unaffected regardless.
2. Weeks two and beyond: Damageshield/lifetap share keeps shrinking toward its ~1% floor, but never fully vanishes and the flat +25% bonus is still fully in effect.
3. Bottom line: The core value of a blessing (the +25% atk/def) doesn't decay at all -- only the secondary damageshield/lifetap effect does, and slowly.

If Cursed: Damage Control

1. Don't fight the dragon unless you're ready to end the VE -- that's the only thing that clears a curse.
2. Avoid PvP: a stat penalty plus the enemy's permanent +25% is a bad matchup, especially early on.
3. Fight easy forest creatures: Low-risk fights while you wait.
4. Use buffs/potions: Counteract curse penalties with external buffs.
5. Set expectations: recovery is slow (about +1 percentage point/day by default) and never complete before VE.

Admin Configuration

Settings:

• blesscost: Favor cost for a blessing (int, default: 500)
• minrez: Minimum resurrections required this VE before the service is offered (int, default: 0)
• cursechance: Percentage chance the blessing becomes a curse instead (int, default: 1)
• basemultiplier: Starting strength of a blessing's damageshield/lifetap multiplier (float, default: 1.0)
• cursemultiplier: Starting strength of a curse's stat-penalty multiplier (float, default: 0.8)
• curserate: Percent the curse multiplier recovers per newday (int, default: 1)

There is no "damageshield" or "lifetap" setting, and no numeric "firstday" duration setting. The damageshield/lifetap values are simply the current multiplier itself (not a separately configurable percentage), and "firstday" exists only as a per-player boolean preference (see below), not an admin-tunable day count.

User Preferences:

• bellatrixblessed: Has blessed equipment this VE? (bool)
• bellatrixcursed: Has cursed equipment this VE? (bool)
• bellatrixarmor: Was the robes (not the wand) blessed/cursed? (bool)
• bellatrixweapon: Was the wand (not the robes) blessed/cursed? (bool)
• firstday: Is this the first day of the buff -- i.e. skip decay/recovery on the next newday? (bool)
• currmultiplier: Current damageshield/lifetap (blessing) or stat-penalty (curse) multiplier (float)

Technical Details

Hooks Used:

• bellatrixfavors: Add the "Report to Azkaban for a Correction Session" option to the Graveyard's favors menu
• newday: Advance the decay/recovery multiplier, then (re-)apply the blessing or curse buff for the coming day. There is no separate "battle" hook -- the buff itself is registered here, once per day, and combat just consumes whatever buff is currently active.
• dragonkilltext: On a successful dragon kill (VE reset), print a farewell cackle if blessed/cursed and reset bellatrixblessed, bellatrixcursed, bellatrixarmor, bellatrixweapon, and currmultiplier to 0

Blessing Buff Implementation (newday hook, simplified):

// Blessed Robes (flat Defense + decaying Damageshield)
if ($bellatrixarmor) {
    $bellatrixbuff = array(
        "name" => array("%s' Dark-Blessed Robes", $deathoverlord),
        "rounds" => -1,
        "defmod" => 1.25,               // hardcoded, never decays
        "damageshield" => $multiplier,  // decays per the formula above
        // ...roundmsg/effectmsg/etc
    );
}

// Blessed Wand (flat Attack + decaying Lifetap)
elseif ($bellatrixweapon) {
    $bellatrixbuff = array(
        "name" => array("%s' Dark-Blessed Wand", $deathoverlord),
        "rounds" => -1,
        "atkmod" => 1.25,             // hardcoded, never decays
        "lifetap" => $multiplier,     // decays per the formula above
        // ...roundmsg/effectmsg/etc
    );
}
apply_buff("bellatrixbuff", $bellatrixbuff);

Curse Buff Implementation (newday hook, simplified):

// Cursed Robes (recovering Def penalty + flat Enemy Atk Buff)
if ($bellatrixarmor) {
    $bellatrixbuff = array(
        "name" => array("%s' Cursed Robes", $deathoverlord),
        "rounds" => -1,
        "defmod" => $multiplier,      // recovers per the formula below, caps at 0.99
        "badguyatkmod" => 1.25,       // hardcoded, never decays
        // ...roundmsg/etc
    );
}
// Cursed Wand mirrors this with atkmod => $multiplier, badguydefmod => 1.25

Decay/Recovery Logic (Newday Hook, actual formulas):

// Blessing decay (only after the first-day no-op)
$basemult = get_module_setting("basemultiplier");
if ($multiplier > 0.2) {
    $multiplier = round($multiplier - $basemult / 7, 2);
} else {
    $multiplier = round($multiplier * 0.75, 2);  // flattens out after 20%
}
if ($multiplier < 0.01) {
    $multiplier = 0.01;  // bottoms out at 1%, never hits 0, until VE
}

// Curse recovery (only after the first-day no-op)
$curserate = get_module_setting("curserate");
$multiplier += ($curserate / 100);  // default: +0.01/day
if ($multiplier > 0.99) {
    $multiplier = 0.99;  // never fully recovers until VE
}

Lore & Flavor

Bellatrix Lestrange: Notorious Death Eater. Sadistic, unpredictable, loyal to Voldemort. Uses death magic for blessings/curses. Takes pleasure in pain (yours and others').

Death Favor as Currency: You earned favor by killing undead in graveyard. Bellatrix values this dark power. Uses it as payment for dark enchantments.

Dark Magic Themes:

• Robes Blessing: Dark-blessed robes that rustle ominously in battle. Damageshield = reflected dark energy.
• Wand Blessing: A wand that vibrates with dark energy. Lifetap = life-stealing power drawn back to you.
• Curses: Sabotage. Bellatrix's cruel joke. Your equipment betrays you.
• Decay: The reflect/lifetap share fades over time (the core +25% doesn't). Renewal requires a fresh VE and another blesscost payment.

Harry Potter References:

• Azkaban setting, reimagined as a bureaucratic Detention Office annex
• Bellatrix Lestrange as "Senior Enrichment Specialist"
• Death Eater aesthetics (malice, dark magic, unlicensed knives)
• Bellatrix's personality: cackling, sadistic, unpredictable, allergic to paperwork she's forced to complete anyway

Risk vs Reward: Classic dark magic trope. Great power, but cursed 1% of time. Faustian bargain. Worth the risk?

Common Questions

Q: Can I have both robes and wand blessed?
A: No. Choose one per VE. After VE reset, can re-bless (either same or different choice).

Q: If I get cursed, can I try again immediately?
A: No. One blessing attempt per VE. Cursed = stuck until the dragonkilltext hook resets you at VE.

Q: Does the blessing last forever?
A: The permanent +25% atk/def bonus lasts the whole VE, unchanged. The damageshield/lifetap share does shrink over time (down toward a ~1% floor, never quite zero), and the whole buff is wiped when you kill the dragon (VE reset). Must re-bless each VE.

Q: If cursed, does the enemy buff ever go away?
A: Not until VE. Your stat penalty recovers very slowly (about +1 percentage point per newday by default, capped at -1%), but the enemy's flat +25% buff persists unchanged until the dragonkilltext hook resets everything.

Q: Can I remove a curse early?
A: No removal mechanic. Wait for the (slow, incomplete) recovery or a VE reset.

Q: Does blessing stack with other buffs?
A: Yes. Blessing buffs stack with potions, spells, equipment, companion. Multiply benefits.

Q: What happens if I bless then immediately kill dragon?
A: The dragonkilltext hook resets the blessing. You lose it. Wasted favor. Don't bless right before a dragon kill.

Q: Can admin set cursechance to 0?
A: Yes. Setting cursechance = 0 means 100% blessing success, no curse risk.