The Filth

"This stuff doesn't think. It's a cancer. Cancer doesn't know you're coming it just is."

- Alex McCall

The Filth is one of the central antagonists in The Secret World, a living disease that has its roots in the darkest of conspiracies and whose very existence is felt across the entirety of the game world - it is the single most prolific and dangerous "monster" humanity faces in The Secret World universe and is beyond the understanding of most humans.

Fought in numerous incarnations by multiple agents the Filth continues to play a major role in-universe and is best described as a malevolent, otherworldly cancer that is eating away at reality and replacing it with its own.

Basic Characteristics
The Filth seeps into an area and infects it, affecting land, minerals and lifeforms and even magical creatures and objects. Once a creature is infected it starts to develop darker inclinations which go on to become neurotic tendencies and steadily grow until the creature appears insane, during the final stage of the infection the creatures entire identity is consumed and they appear as violent creatures that share a hive-minded insanity. Once victims of the Filth reach it's final stages they appear with black splotches and twisting tendrils. Victims may infect others by their merest touch as they are little more than an extension of the disease at that point. Though creatures infected with The Filth only become obvious monsters in the final stage of the infection and can fight to retain control until then the end stage is unavoidable. If even one of The Filth manifests naturally in an area it means the infection has been seeping into the area for some time and everyone native to the area will turn as well. The Filth not only affects living creatures and areas but can corrupt magic, inanimate objects, dead bodies, undead bodies and even spirits. Spirits who did not die as part of The Filth may still be restored if the source of the infection is stopped but their appears to be no cure for any of it's other victims.

Types

 * Filthy Humans- The most common type of The Filth seen in The Secret World is human victims. They will babble randomly in hi-pitch voices as if they are unaware of where or even who they are even while attacking.


 * Filthy Zombies- The a few zombies amidst the undead hoards of the fog, have been touched by The Filth and transformed into truck-sized hulks, similar to the humans the creatures are entirely black and covered in writhing tendrils. The creatures are much stronger and tougher than the average zombies and unlike the human victim have no minds to give even a shadow of humanity.


 * Filthy Agartha- Agartha is a pocket dimension used for transported between areas and even worlds in The Secret World, Agartha grows several trees which literally branch from one portal to another, allowing players to walk on them. The trees area manifestation of life and magic but even they are not immune to The Filth, the lower levels of some of the trees of Agartha spill over with The Filth and it slowly germinates within them. This means if unstopped The Filth will slowly infect the multi-verse.

Unique Filth

 * The_Hound_of_Corruption.pngThe Hound of Corruption- In the mission Dreamcatcher for Old Joseph, a Native American tradition keeper for the Wabanaki tribe, Joseph finds that spirits of Wabanaki ancestors are being corrupted by The Filth, he will ask the player to help him purify the spirits both wandering the dream-scape and the afterlife. Once the rites are completed the player will travel to the spirit world and face numerous corrupted ancestors of the Wabanaki tribe until they make their way to the source of the infection, The Hound of Corruption. The Hound of Corruption will be trying to infect further spirits with The Filth. The creature is fast strong and appears to have no original body, implying it is The Filth incarnate. Joseph states that destroy the hound and the spirits infected will allow the spirits to re-manifest as their true selves.