Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Suzu 09-13-07, 06:38 PM	Below is a small article I've written called 'The Touch of Taint'. The article clarifies some of the taint rules that I myself was struggling with, fixes the DC of the saving throws, and adds some flavor stuff. I just thought I'd stick it up here to see what you guys thought of it. Before you read the article, I probably ought to make clear that, when I use taint, I don't bother with corruption, as this tends to just made players feel ill and doesn't actually lend well to a horror game. Also, whenever someone gains taint in one of my gains they just get a straight 1d4 points of it. Comments and thoughts will, of course, be appreciated. The Touch of Taint How Evil spreads among the Good 1: TAINT MECHANICS Resisting Taint A character can acquire taint by physical exposure to evil places or objects, seeing particularly shocking or horrible things, or by committing evil acts. In all cases, a character that would acquire taint is permitted a Will save to avoid doing so. This save represents attempts by the character’s subconscious to resist the lure of evil, and if the save is failed the character receives taint. Unless otherwise noted, the DC of a save to resist taint is 10 +the character’s level + the amount of taint to be gained. Thus, a 2nd level character set to receive 3 points of taint can avoid doing so with a successful DC 15 Will save. Acquiring Taint Taint can be gained in any of the following ways: casting spells, entering an evil place, touching an evil object, committing evil acts, or murdering a god. Each is discussed below. The attacks of some monsters also bestow taint, but the rules governing these situations are very clear and are therefore not mentioned here. Casting Spells: Casting a spell warps the fabric of the multiverse. This warping leaves tiny cracks, through which pure evil come swarming in. This evil attaches itself to the caster and infiltrates his soul, eventually tainting it beyond recognition. Any time anyone casts a spell (any spell at all), he must make a Will save. The Will save DC in this circumstance is 10 + the level of the spell. If you fail, you gain 1d4 points of taint. If the spell has the evil descriptor, the spellcaster has also committed an evil act, and must make another save (see below). Note that, in my campaign setting, paladins do not have alignment restrictions. Evil places: A character that enters an evil place gains 1d4 points of taint as soon as they cross the threshold. For every additional 24 hours that a character spends in an evil place, he gains another 1d4 points of taint. The taint of an evil place can only affect him once every 24 hours. Areas that are sufficiently evil to bestow taint are typically the sites of mass-murders, temples dedicated to evil gods, gates to evil planes, battlefields, or defiled graveyards. To become evil enough to bestow taint, a place must have seen large amounts of bloodshed, pain, misery, fear, anger or hate. Evil objects: A character that touches an evil object gains 1d4 points of taint as soon as they make physical contact with it. The contact does not require the character to actually expose their skin, nor does it have to be purposeful contact. Thus, the heavily robed monk who accidentally bumps the angel killing blade Riztor with his elbow is still affected by the inherent evil in the weapon. For every additional 24 hours that an evil object remains on a character’s person, he gains another 1d4 points of taint. The taint of an evil object can only affect him once every 24 hours. Objects that are sufficiently evil to bestow taint are usually the weapons of fiends or other champions of evil. Riztor, the sword that spilled oceans of angel’s blood, is a classic example of an evil object. Evil objects do not have to be weapons however: any item that has been in the presence of evil can become an evil object over time, whether it is a knife from the kitchen of a powerful demon, the skull of a long dead evil priest, or the last diary of a shunned lover who murdered her rival. An evil object doesn’t even have to have been in the possession of an evil being, it could simply have resided for some time in an evil place (see above). The plinth in the tomb of Marunae that continually drips blood, the mirror in the House of Shadows that displays twisted reflections of reality, and the rug in the cottage where Narcissa was raped are all examples of this. Committing evil acts: A character that commits an evil act instantly gains 1d4 points of taint. Every time he commits another evil act, even if it is a repeat of the same one, he gains another 1d4 points of taint. An evil act is any act that spreads fear, misery, pain, grief, hatred or anger in the world. Murder, rape, torture and necromancy are all classic examples of evil acts that bestow taint. Such acts do not even require the perpetrator to enjoy or understand what they are doing, they are so inherently evil that they corrupt the mind of those that commit them. Even the torture or rape of evil creatures, or creatures without sentience, bestows taint. Sometimes, it is not evil to commit murder. Killing beings that lack sentience, like golems or animals, is not evil, as the golem was never really a living thing in the first place. Many undead creatures also fall into this category. Killing evil creatures is not an evil act either. The paladin that clears a dungeon full of dretches and zombies will not gain taint. Even the rogue that slinks through the shadows and stabs his enemy in the back is not doing anything evil, provided his enemy is evil itself. Lastly, killing in self-defence is not evil either. If the character’s attacker is a neutral or good creature, they must be offered opportunities to surrender. With some creatures this may be impossible (often due to language barriers), but efforts must be undertaken never-the-less. Some acts are evil in particular cases. Stealing for an evil cause, such as self-enrichment, to provide a fiend with a tool, or simply to bring unhappiness to the victim are all examples of evil acts. Even if a neutral good thief plunders the mansion of a neutral evil necromancer, he has committed an evil act if he keeps the money. If, however, he gives the spoils to a local orphanage, or some other good cause, the act is not evil, and he would not acquire taint. Similarly, consorting with fiends is an evil act. The very presence of a fiend is enough to taint those nearby, and anyone within 20 feet of one acquires taint (use the rules for evil places, above). Again, there are circumstances in which this does not apply. If a character is only near a fiend so that he might kill it, he does not acquire taint. Acquisition of taint in this situation is much more dependent on the intentions of the character involved. Thus, a fanatical demon worshiper would acquire taint, but a paladin intent on smiting the monster wouldn’t. Taint and Alignment The more tainted a character becomes, the more black becomes his soul. The stench of evil clings to any character with minor or greater taint, and consequentially they register to detect evil spells. Actual alignment shift is also caused by taint. A moderately tainted character is neutral at best, and a severely tainted character is evil. This is the result of the evil that has entered their soul, due to the causes above. The symptoms of mental illness that result are also caused by this evil: madness is not a disease that affects everyone, it is a psychological effect of pure evil corrupting the brain. 2: TAINT MANIFESTATIONS This chapter covers new material that incorporates taint. Cursed Ribbons Although taint primarily affects the mind, it does leave a physical mark none-the-less. A tainted creature acquires a cursed ribbon, a change to the victim’s natural skin colour that gradually spreads to cover their entire body. A cursed ribbon is charcoal black in colour and about an inch wide, and feels like charcoal to the touch. At night, foul blasphemies in Abyssal appear in dark red along the ribbon. A cursed ribbon does not affect anything other than the appearance of a character, though a character with a cursed ribbon may accumulate a weeping mark (see below). A character with a cursed ribbon manifests a symptom of taint as normal. Cursed ribbons can only be removed by removing the appropriate level of taint from the victim. Undead creatures, or creatures with the evil subtype never have cursed ribbons. Their own appearance is a sign of the taint that dwells within them. A cursed ribbon first manifests at the time a character becomes mildly tainted. It begins in the palm of each hand and curls into the outside of the wrist, then weaves around the arm all the way to the shoulder. Similarly, the ribbon also appears on the victim’s legs, beginning on the bottom of the heel and ending at the waist. When the victim becomes moderately tainted, the ribbon grows, twisting over their torso and around their neck. The ribbon also stretches to completely cover all of the victim’s arms, legs, feet and hands. When the victim becomes severely tainted, the ribbon moves up onto the victim’s face. The ribbon also stretches to completely cover their torso and neck. Finally, when the victim accumulates enough taint to render them insane, the ribbon covers the rest of their face, rendering them totally consumed by taint. Any creature completely covered by a cursed ribbon dies instantly. Weeping Marks A weeping mark is far more serious than a cursed ribbon. The latter is simply the physical sign that a creature is becoming tainted, but the former means that the bearer’s soul is doomed after death. At each stage of depravity (mild, moderate and severe), a creature with a cursed ribbon (see above) must make a Will save. The save is DC 11 + the victim’s character level for mild taint, DC 12 + the victim’s character level for moderate taint, and DC 13 + the victim’s character level for severe taint. Non-humanoids automatically pass any saving throws to resist acquiring a weeping mark. If the victim fails this save, he accumulates a weeping mark, a large symbol written in Abyssal in the centre of their back. The symbol is always the Abyssal for ‘death’. A weeping mark weeps blood every time the victim gains a point of taint, and at night it weeps constantly. This blood does not deal any damage to the victim or affect any of his checks, saves or rolls. However, it does leave a clear trail of where they have been. If the victim already has a weeping mark and gains enough taint to put him at another stage of depravity, he must make a Fortitude save (using the same DCs as above) or take 1d8 points of Constitution damage. A creature with a weeping mark that dies instantly rises as a weeping wraith (see below). If the cause of their death is high taint, their also body explodes in a burst of negative energy, with a radius of twenty feet. The burst deals 1d6 damage per hit dice the creature had (maximum 20d6) WEEPING WRAITH A weeping wraith is an incorporeal undead created when a creature bearing a weeping mark dies of taint. A weeping wraith is a vaguely humanoid shape of darkness and shadows. Their bodies are much darker than normal wraiths, usually pitch black. The weeping mark that caused their fate remains in death, blazing brightly on their back. Weeping wraiths despise life and happiness, and spend their entire existence spreading fear, pain and death. They are cunning and patient, and often set long-running plans in motion. MAKING A WEEPING WRAITH “Weeping wraith” is an acquired template than can be added to any humanoid. A weeping wraith has all the base creature’s characteristics excepts as noted here. Size and Type: The creature’s type changes to undead, and it takes the incorporeal subtype. Hit Dice: All the creature’s Hit Dice change to d12s. Speed: Fly 60 ft. (perfect). AC: The creature loses its natural armour bonus, but gains a deflection bonus equal to its Charisma modifier +1, or +2, whichever is greater. Attacks: The creature loses its attacks and gains an incorporeal touch attack. Damage: The base damage for the weeping wraith’s incorporeal touch attack depends on the size of the creature, as shown on the table below. The attack also deals 1d6 points of Constitution drain. Size Damage Fine – Diminutive 1 Tiny 1d2 Small 1d3 Medium 1d4 Large 1d6 Huge 1d8 Gargantuan 2d6 Colossal 2d8 Special Attacks: The weeping wraith loses the base creature’s special attacks and gains Constitution drain and creeping doom as a spell-like ability. Constitution drain: Any living creature hit by a weeping wraith’s incorporeal touch attack must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ weeping wraith’s HD + weeping wraith’s Cha modifier) or take 1d6 points of Constitution drain. Creeping doom: A weeping wraith with 13 Hit Dice or more gains the ability to cast creeping doom as a spell-like ability once a day, with a caster level equal to their hit dice. Special Qualities: A weeping wraith loses all the base creature’s special qualities and gains those described below. Aura of despair: Any living creature that comes within 30 ft. of a weeping wraith must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + ½ weeping wraith’s HD + weeping wraith’s Cha modifier) or become shaken for the duration of the encounter. A successful save renders the character immune to this effect for the duration of the encounter. This is a mind-affecting effect. Fast healing: A weeping wraith heals 3 points of damage each round so long as he has at least 1 hit point. Sunlight powerlessness: Weeping wraiths are utterly powerless in natural sunlight (not merely the area of a daylight spell) and flee from it. A wraith caught in sunlight cannot attack and can take only partial actions. Turn resistance: A weeping wraith gains turn resistance +2. Unnatural aura: Both wild and domesticated animals can sense the unnatural presence of a weeping wraith at a distance of 30 ft. They do not willingly approach nearer than that and become panicked if forced to do so. They remain panicked as long as they are within that range. Abilities: +6 Dex, +4 Int, +4 Wis, +6 Cha. As an incorporeal undead, a weeping wraith has no Strength or Constitution score. Feats: A weeping wraith gains Improved Initiative as a bonus feat. Challenge Rating: If 13 HD or more then +6, otherwise +5. Level Adjustment: +8
Suzu 09-18-07, 12:30 PM	Ahem. *bumped*
lulzapalooza 09-18-07, 01:06 PM	:rofl: :heehee :eek: :D
Suzu 09-18-07, 03:16 PM	What? For crissake, I just want someone to look over these frickin homebrew rules and see if they are balanced/interesting...
Danahan 09-18-07, 06:21 PM	This is a lot better than the stuff in Heroes of Horror. The first time I read through the book description, I was like HUH!? I actually felt retarded for not getting a total grasp on it. In my upcoming campaign, I also decided to get rid of corruption. Corruption seems like a really fast way too making players frustrated and jaded. I decided to rename depravity to madness. A more flavorful name for my campaign world.
Artifact 09-18-07, 07:25 PM	I like what you've done here. Its well thought out and presented quite nicely. All in all, a very solid article. I especially like the cursed ribbons and weeping marks, these definately make your presentation of Taint unique and flavorful ;). For further inspiration, I recommend the article "Temptation and Redemption: Betraying Your Evil Nature" presented in Dragon Magazine #306. It presents an easy way to keep track of the good and evil that characters commit by using Redemption and Temptation points to determine if a character's alignment should shift to one more befitting the character's actions. The Dragon article does bring corruption into the issue, but I think they lend themselves to a horror game more readily than those presented in Heroes of Horror. In any case, perhaps the article can inspire you in other ways. If your interersted, back issues are available from paizo.com. Hope this helps ;)
Suzu 09-18-07, 08:18 PM	:blush: Well, thank you all, I hadn't expected that positive a reaction. Thank you very much!:) This is a lot better than the stuff in Heroes of Horror. The first time I read through the book description, I was like HUH!? I actually felt retarded for not getting a total grasp on it. My thoughts exactly. I really like Heroes of Horror (page for page its one of the most valuable splatbooks out there), but it was a tad (i.e. really) vague on a few important things, like the DCs for saving throws. And that "mental illness isn't something that affects good and evil alike, but is a sign of evil taking someone over, etc" is easily missable. I only recently spotted it. I'd also thought about putting in stuff about getting taint from being exposed to horrific situations, but left it out in the end. I thought that, as PCs are exposed to horrific stuff basically 24/7, it didn't fit. Furthermore, the reasoning was lax: being scared doesn't fill your souls with evil. That, basically, is the most important distinction to make: depravity is a sign of evil in the soul, not being scared/crazy/emo. ANd, like I said, it's easy to miss. Anyway, thanks a lot for the feedback. I'm sticking this in with my other campaign stuff. I'm currently on a mission to wrest the title of 'Most detailed homebrew ever' from Jürgen Hubert, the guy who created Urbis (http://juergen.the-huberts.net/dnd/urbis/index.html), though i expect that is next to impossible.
Danahan 09-18-07, 11:55 PM	I'd also thought about putting in stuff about getting taint from being exposed to horrific situations, but left it out in the end. I thought that, as PCs are exposed to horrific stuff basically 24/7, it didn't fit. Furthermore, the reasoning was lax: being scared doesn't fill your souls with evil. That, basically, is the most important distinction to make: depravity is a sign of evil in the soul, not being scared/crazy/emo. ANd, like I said, it's easy to miss. I don't like how the PCs walk into an area, and have to save or absorb a bunch of evil that will someday make them evil. Sort of makes the whole point of adventuring worthless. Why put yourself at such a risk? Instead I like how in Masque of the Red Death, characters can go mad if they make contact with a creature's mind, or if they witness a murder, or get tortured. It works better, because the conditions are so much more limited.
Suzu 09-19-07, 07:38 AM	If we're wandering into maddness rules, then we have problems. Consider how many soldiers are currently coming back from Iraq (just an example, let's skip the politics) with mental illnessess; it's above 50%. Now, if a soldier is coming back mentally ill (mostly panic attacks, but even some psychotic behavious), think about what's going to happen to D&D characters. Not only are they regulalry and repeatedly exposed to violent and gory scenes (like all those times they go off into a dungeon and kill things), they are also exposed to undead, abberations, dragons, fiends, etc. And firing off spells at all hours of the day is bound to screw with you sanity. My point is, if you introduce just pure, simple mental illness, everyone goes mad. And players are not going to have as good a time if their character breaks into a panic attack every time a fight starts. Taint is about actual evil getting into people and messing with their head, and I mean the raw stuff that fiends are made out of, not just general evilness (like the evilness of an evil PC).
locustechpriest 10-05-07, 09:48 PM	I can't quite say that I agree with what constitutes an evil act, but that is something I am not interested in debating. It is up to individual DMs and campaigns, and yours is as good as any on such a subjective issue. Now, I really love the ribbons and weeping mark. I am so glad that you actually described how the ribbons propogate and the infernal words bit was intense and pleasing. If I ever run a campaign, taint will be in it. :) Concerning the weeping wraith, what happens to the ribbons and mark on the no longer inhabited body? Since these markings are predominantly a reflection of the corruption in mind and soul, would the departure of the soul also take the markings? I imagined them melting away and joining with the soul as it becomes a wraith, the tendrils of grey mist and black threads weaving together in a tapestry of vileness. Is this consistent with your intent? I could also see the markings, or some vestige of them remaining as a sign to those who would resurrect such a fould abominaiton, too. That's all for now, but I may return! ^_^
locustechpriest 10-12-07, 04:54 AM	Taint doesn't seem like a very controlable force, but I was thinking of certain items that are undenyable evil, and considered for a moment: what if an item were designed to steer the influences of taint upon it's posessor? This plate armor directs and accelerates the flow of taint, transforming its wearer into something akin to a demon. The helmet is shaped to look like a horned demon head, and its wearer looks out of the open, tooth-filled mouth. This +4 full plate allows the wearer to make claw attacks that deal 1d10 points of damage, strike as +1 weapons, and afflict the target as if she had been struck by a contagion spell (Fortitude DC 14 negates). Use of contagion requires a normal melee attack with the claws. The "claws" are built into the armor’s vambraces and gauntlets. The armor temporarily increases the taint of any creature wearing it by four, and another four for any non-evil creatures. This taint persists as long as the armor is worn and disappears when the armor is removed. This taint contributes to the penalties to Wisdom and Constitution as normal, but the visible effects are predictable, and cannot be hidden, even with special training. Those wearing Tainted Demon Armor have the following modifications to their appearance, as defined by their level of taint. Mild -- Eyes become cloudy grey and the skin becomes thickened and leathery, reddening somewhat. Moderate -- Eyes blacken completely, tiny scales are visible on the skin which becomes nearly crimson. Tiny growths of bone appear on the skull and back and teeth sharpen into fine points. Severe -- Visible horns have grown on the head and back which protrude through small gaps in the armor, fangs have replaced many of the more mundane teeth. A red mist pours from the eyes and the skin is covered by unmistakable, deep-crimson scales. Demon armor inflicts taint as is normal for an item of evil power. It does not remove or suppress other manifestations of taint. Strong necromancy [evil]; CL 13th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, contagion; Price 52,260 gp; Cost 26,130 gp + 2,090 XP. Snagged a relatively basic item of evil and changed its properties some. I set its instant taint "bonus" equal to its enhancement. Maybe I should replace its claws with a bite or gore attack granted at severe taint level as a result of mutations? It just seems that I might have made it less friendly...
Dvus 10-28-07, 01:12 PM	I love this taint! I PDF'd it for my library! D
lastknightleft 10-30-07, 11:21 AM	The only real Issue I have with it, which isn't really that bad because of the low DC save is just the fact that spellcasters suffer for using their most important class feature, I mean a few ones at low level and the party wizard is SOL for no real reason compared to the others, just because he has nothing without his spells.
michaeljpatrick 10-30-07, 11:51 AM	I haven't read the rules in detail, but like the idea in general. When I have time I'll look over it more fully. I wouldn't use that name in my own campaign. I would call it "Touch of Darkness" or something. I don't know where you are from, but where I grew up the word 'taint' was a humorous slang term for an unsavory part of human anatomy (perhaps a trip to urbandictionary.com is in order...) That may explain the initial LOLs your title aroused.
Lord_Tirian 12-02-07, 09:29 AM	First of all, that's a nice article including very flavourful stuff (Cursed Ribbons, Weeping Marks)... and deserves a nice bumpage! ;) Unless otherwise noted, the DC of a save to resist taint is 10 +the character’s level + the amount of taint to be gained. Thus, a 2nd level character set to receive 3 points of taint can avoid doing so with a successful DC 15 Will save. Don't like this, as saves scale slower than level... let's compare a wizard 1 (Wis 11) with a wizard 20 (Wis 11, plus cloak of resistance +5) both gaining one point of taint: Wiz 1: Will save +2 against DC 12: must roll 10 or better => 55% to make the save. Wiz 20: Will save +17 against DC 31: must roll 14 or better => 35% to make the save. Ouch! For other classes, except divine casters, things will look even worse. Unless that's intended... it's generally bad. Rather tie it to the source and make a source of taint table OR make it a level-independent roll (as a Wis check). Of course, if you want more powerful characters to be more prone to fall, that's fine, but I just wanted to point that out. :) Cheers, LT.