Where will my Tainted Bard end up? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Where will my Tainted Bard end up? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Nobi
06-20-07, 11:26 PM Some of you may have noticed, though some of my other posts, that my newest character-in-development is a revamp of an old one, a Bard roaming through the Planes of the Abyss, who's luck eventually caught up with him; landing him in the dungeons of a Demon Lord who didn't agree with his merry-making.

In truth, the Bard was working against said Demon Lord, though not by his own volition; he was being played by another Demon. In the end, it didn't matter. He was captured, tortured, and most likely executed, along with the rest of his party.

Now, I'm part of a follow-up campaign, set almost a decade in the future. My DM has come up to me, asking if I'd like to bring this character back, and also help him introduce "Taint" to his campaign, as seen on HoH 62.

At first, I was focusing on doing as little damage to my bard's character as possible, taking easily neutralized Depravity effects from the table. Now however, I see how this could be a lot of fun, and I'm starting to write up an adventure for my DM, and how this character might tie into the goals of our current party.

Now, there are two ways I can take this character. A, he can fully embrace his taint, or B, stay unaware/in denial of it.

If he were to embrace his taint, I'd probably have him take a few levels in a combat-oriented class (like Corrupted Avenger), and become a Rambo-esque Demon hunter. Alternatively, he could settle down in a rural Abyssal village (Which of course, the current PC's will later just happen to wander into), and eventually have a psychotic breakdown related to his torture/taint (Maybe he had one of those bloodstones implanted in him?), and become a serial-killer of these lesser demons, creating an adventure for the heroes to solve.

However, I prefer option B. It would be much more interesting to play a character who didn't (want to) know that he had been tainted, and was quite worried about the physical/mental manifestations of it. He would attempt to live among the more peaceful areas of the Abyss (seeing as, in this campaign world one is usually trapped in the Abyss,) and live his life as normally as possible, except when the PC's show up, and stir everything up! The problems with this option is, though, I can't easily represent it with Taint Feats or taint associated class levels. For example, the Corrupted Avenger is very much aware of his own taint, and seeks to use it to destroy his enemies in combat. That doesn't suit this type of character very well.

So, which of these character guidelines do you think would be more successful and fun to play? Or, perhaps, can these options be mixed?

Once I get this first part sorted out, I can start working on a storyline that isn't just an outline, which I can post here for critique, if you guys want it :P
warwinner
06-21-07, 12:33 AM There are many spells which remove/reduce taint [heroes of horror].Maybe the bard had access somehow to these till recently, which kept him from the worst of taint.But now, his supply has somehow run out and he is desperate to stop this gnawing maw of madness .......
Nobi
06-22-07, 05:41 PM Hm, that could work. Maybe I could even work out that dependence in-session. Our party doesn't have a cleric, so Holy-Water isn't always available. Perhaps he has to drink that.

Bump for more ideas, though.
Fithero
06-23-07, 12:54 PM I like the idea of taint, but like most things in d&d, its dealt with to easily by those any higher than 5th lvl.

If you were wanted, you could look in the BoVD on p35/36 and read up on 'Lingering Effects of Evil' on creatures. If you dont like any of those, check out the table of Ressurection effects that is somewhere near the middle of HoH, it has some interesting things that happen to those who are brought back.

All these effects could be interesting to add to your character. Perhaps he has been tainted so long that even if all taint is removed from him, these effects remain.

Just a thought.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Nobi 06-20-07, 11:26 PM	Some of you may have noticed, though some of my other posts, that my newest character-in-development is a revamp of an old one, a Bard roaming through the Planes of the Abyss, who's luck eventually caught up with him; landing him in the dungeons of a Demon Lord who didn't agree with his merry-making. In truth, the Bard was working against said Demon Lord, though not by his own volition; he was being played by another Demon. In the end, it didn't matter. He was captured, tortured, and most likely executed, along with the rest of his party. Now, I'm part of a follow-up campaign, set almost a decade in the future. My DM has come up to me, asking if I'd like to bring this character back, and also help him introduce "Taint" to his campaign, as seen on HoH 62. At first, I was focusing on doing as little damage to my bard's character as possible, taking easily neutralized Depravity effects from the table. Now however, I see how this could be a lot of fun, and I'm starting to write up an adventure for my DM, and how this character might tie into the goals of our current party. Now, there are two ways I can take this character. A, he can fully embrace his taint, or B, stay unaware/in denial of it. If he were to embrace his taint, I'd probably have him take a few levels in a combat-oriented class (like Corrupted Avenger), and become a Rambo-esque Demon hunter. Alternatively, he could settle down in a rural Abyssal village (Which of course, the current PC's will later just happen to wander into), and eventually have a psychotic breakdown related to his torture/taint (Maybe he had one of those bloodstones implanted in him?), and become a serial-killer of these lesser demons, creating an adventure for the heroes to solve. However, I prefer option B. It would be much more interesting to play a character who didn't (want to) know that he had been tainted, and was quite worried about the physical/mental manifestations of it. He would attempt to live among the more peaceful areas of the Abyss (seeing as, in this campaign world one is usually trapped in the Abyss,) and live his life as normally as possible, except when the PC's show up, and stir everything up! The problems with this option is, though, I can't easily represent it with Taint Feats or taint associated class levels. For example, the Corrupted Avenger is very much aware of his own taint, and seeks to use it to destroy his enemies in combat. That doesn't suit this type of character very well. So, which of these character guidelines do you think would be more successful and fun to play? Or, perhaps, can these options be mixed? Once I get this first part sorted out, I can start working on a storyline that isn't just an outline, which I can post here for critique, if you guys want it :P
warwinner 06-21-07, 12:33 AM	There are many spells which remove/reduce taint [heroes of horror].Maybe the bard had access somehow to these till recently, which kept him from the worst of taint.But now, his supply has somehow run out and he is desperate to stop this gnawing maw of madness .......
Nobi 06-22-07, 05:41 PM	Hm, that could work. Maybe I could even work out that dependence in-session. Our party doesn't have a cleric, so Holy-Water isn't always available. Perhaps he has to drink that. Bump for more ideas, though.
Fithero 06-23-07, 12:54 PM	I like the idea of taint, but like most things in d&d, its dealt with to easily by those any higher than 5th lvl. If you were wanted, you could look in the BoVD on p35/36 and read up on 'Lingering Effects of Evil' on creatures. If you dont like any of those, check out the table of Ressurection effects that is somewhere near the middle of HoH, it has some interesting things that happen to those who are brought back. All these effects could be interesting to add to your character. Perhaps he has been tainted so long that even if all taint is removed from him, these effects remain. Just a thought.