The Contagion infects your character. This Condition develops across three stages. Each stage of Infected is a new Condition; progressing the infection to the next stage resolves the previous stage’s Condition and grants a Beat as normal. A character moves to the next stage of Infected after a number of full chapters have passed equal to her current stage of infection +1; thus, a character at stage 1 who isn’t cured before two full chapters have passed resolves the stage 1 Condition and gains the stage 2 Condition instead.
The character suffers symptoms at an intensity appropriate to the stage of the Condition she possesses, based on the particular outbreak that contaminated her. She also spreads her infection as though she had the Contagion Carrier Condition, p. 278. She takes a penalty equal to the stage of this Condition to Social rolls against anyone who knows about her infection; this becomes a bonus instead when she threatens them.
Possible Sources: Progression from the Contagion-Touched Condition; some particularly virulent Contagion vectors.
Resolution: Successfully applying an appropriate Contagion cure resolves the current stage’s Condition and drops the character down to the previous stage, or from stage 1 to Contagion-Touched. Gaining the next stage of this Condition resolves the current one. At stage 3, if the character would progress to the next stage of Infected, she becomes one of the Contagious instead (and likely unplayable).
Beat: Inflict the Contagion-Touched Condition on some- one; suffer significant setbacks or harm due to your symptoms.