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View Full Version : Embrace the Dark Side [Taint variant]



Yora
2009-09-18, 01:45 PM
I really like the basic idea of Taint in D&D, but always thought it's somewhat lacking. The OA/UA variant is mostly just evil radiation poisoning, but there's no real reason anyone would WANT to gain taint.
But people who have given in to the temptations of dark powers are just such a great staple of fantasy, that I don't want to miss it.
So I did what a good gm does and made up a variant taint system that includes these things:

Variant Taint

In this variant, Taint is aquired as usual. When you are exposed to areas of taint or wield tainted items, you have to make a successful Fortitude save or gain Taint. If you perform acts that are utterly evil, you may gain Taint without any save.

A character can have a Taint score up to equal his Wisdom score. When the Taint score is equal to a characters Wisdom score, he is overcome by the taint and turned into a monster. I like to use a Wight template, similar to the barrow wights of LotR.
There are five strength categories of Taint.
{table=head]Taint score|Taint strength|Max points
0|None|-
1-4|Weak|1
5-8|Medium|2
9-12|Strong|3
13+|Overwhelming|4[/table]

A character with a Taint score has a number of Taint points per day, which is usually equal to his Taint score. These Taint points can be used for certain effects. Using Taint points is a sudden action and a character can spend taint points depending on the strength of his Taint. For example a character with a Taint score of 7 has medium Taint and can spend 2 Taint points at once.

You can use taint scores for the following effects.
Get a bonus of +1/taint point to attack and damage for 10 rounds.
As a psionic manifester or spellcaster using spell points, Taint points can be used to exceed the normal maximum caster level, like a wilders Wild Surge ability.
As a spellcaster using spell slots, taint points allow a character to cast a spell with a metamagic feat without preperation. This ability can be used on metamagic feats that would raise the spells slot requirement by a number equal to the number of Taint points spend. (If 2 Taint points are spend, you can apply a metamagic feat that would require a spell slot 2 levels higher.)
There's also a Taint spell list, that mostly includes spell with the evil and death descriptor. These spells are gone from all other spell lists, but are available to all characters who have a Taint score equal or greater to the Spells level +10. So to cast 4th level Taint spells, you need a Taint score of 14 (and therefore a Wisdom score equal or greater than 14).

The idea is, that having a low Taint score can actually be beneficial to characters in the short term. Sure the taint is evil, but with a Wisdom score auf 14, there's no real permanent danger from having low or medium taint, and it can grant a nice edge in defeating a greater evil. Once the threat is gone, you can cleanse yourself of the Taint, right?

---

Unfortunately, I'm still not quite sure about the drawbacks of Taint. For one thing, a tainted character would be vulnerable to items and effects that specifically target tainted creatures. If taint is included in a setting, I would also propose to place generous amounts of magic into the world, that is meant to detect and ward off tainted characters. Their taint would be detected by guards and priests of good temples, who would probably deny them entrance, unless they are come to request aid in having the taint removed. I would also like to include static mechanical penalties that somewhat level out the benefits of using taint points, but I'm a bit on a loss there.

Any input highly appreciated.

J.Gellert
2009-09-18, 01:55 PM
I recall Heroes of Horror has rules for a quite desirable version of taint...

PairO'Dice Lost
2009-09-18, 04:58 PM
I recall Heroes of Horror has rules for a quite desirable version of taint...

Tainted Scholar =/= Taint as a system. Though on the desirability point you're spot-on. :smallwink:

I do like the version presented; it reminds me a bit of defilers from Dark Sun, in fact. I would do one of two things for balance: (A) you could go the Star Wars route and have Taint be the quicker but less powerful route; maybe tainted casters get fewer slots/PP per day and tainted ToB types get fewer maneuvers readied, so they can spike their power but are weaker overall. Or (B), you could go the RP-penalty route and make it affect their outlook and actions--Will saves to avoid doing things or penalties in certain scenarios could work.

Doc Roc
2009-09-18, 05:49 PM
Actually, Dice, there's a well-laided out system, there's just only two classes that interact with it, one of which is the only meaningful competition for Incantatrix. ;)

TL;DR: I agree with Dice.

Yora
2009-09-18, 06:01 PM
I'd like using Taint to have a good immediate pay-off, but easily getting you end up with paying a greater price than you had expected before. More punch, but it will cost you.
Just like a good drug dealer. ^^

J.Gellert
2009-09-18, 06:35 PM
Tainted Scholar =/= Taint as a system. Though on the desirability point you're spot-on. :smallwink:

But doesn't the Heroes of Horror taint give bonus feats or something?

AlistairThorne
2009-09-18, 07:08 PM
Actually, Dice, there's a well-laided out system, there's just only two classes that interact with it, one of which is the only meaningful competition for Incantatrix. ;)

TL;DR: I agree with Dice.

Actually, both Red Wizards and Deep Diviners can give an Incantrix a run for its money depending on your goals.

Incantrix is powerful but it is far from the best option in all situations.

@OP

I suggest Heroes of Horror if you want useful Taint mechanics and such.

PairO'Dice Lost
2009-09-19, 03:49 AM
But doesn't the Heroes of Horror taint give bonus feats or something?

It does, but the payoff really isn't worth it. It takes many taint-triggering acts/sights to get your taint high enough even for the first feat, and then you lose the feat if you ever go below that taint threshold, so in a way it's kind of like using a ring of evasion to qualify for a PrC--almost free benefits, but too easy to lose. The tainted scholar, though...that's where it's at.

AlistairThorne
2009-09-19, 03:34 PM
It does, but the payoff really isn't worth it. It takes many taint-triggering acts/sights to get your taint high enough even for the first feat, and then you lose the feat if you ever go below that taint threshold, so in a way it's kind of like using a ring of evasion to qualify for a PrC--almost free benefits, but too easy to lose. The tainted scholar, though...that's where it's at.

It is essentially 3 more flaws for 2 more feats. It is fricking awesome if you can use those 2 more feats well.

DragoonWraith
2009-09-19, 04:48 PM
Get a bonus of +1/taint point to attack and damage for 10 rounds.
Write that as "1 per taint point", because when I saw "1/taint" I immediately thought this was Damage Reduction. While not wrong as is, Garden Path sentences (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_path_sentence) should be avoided.


As a psionic manifester or spellcaster using spell points, Taint points can be used to exceed the normal maximum caster level, like a wilders Wild Surge ability.
I'm tempted to just ignore the spell point variant for this. Anyone incorporating this and that can houserule the interaction between the two variants; writing specific rules for a variant's handling of another variant seems overkill and unnecessary. For example, you say "caster level" where in reality you're usually talking about manifester level.

Also, do the Taint Points replace the Power Points needed to do this, or does spending Taint Points merely raise the maximum number of Power Points you can spend on a power? I'd suggest the latter. Something like "As a psionic manifester, powers may be manifested with more power points than the usual limit of the manifester level. Each point of Taint expended in this fashion increases the limit by one."


As a spellcaster using spell slots, taint points allow a character to cast a spell with a metamagic feat without preperation. This ability can be used on metamagic feats that would raise the spells slot requirement by a number equal to the number of Taint points spend. (If 2 Taint points are spend, you can apply a metamagic feat that would require a spell slot 2 levels higher.)
Does it prevent the spell from actually using that higher slot? If so, bad idea - metamagic reducers are generally overpowered. You're limited to +4 spell levels - but a free Quicken is pretty huge.

I'd instead do something where a prepared spell slot of the appropriate higher spell level may be lost (a la Cleric spontaneous healing) to spontaneously add a metamagic effect to a spell prepared in a lower slot, costing one Taint point per spell level increase. The lower level spell slot becomes unprepared, but unused so that it may be prepared as normal (or maybe it remains prepared as the lower version).

For example, if a Wizard has Haste prepared in a 3rd level slot, and Finger of Death prepared in a 7th level slot, he may expend 4 Taint points to cast a Quickened Haste from the Finger of Death slot (replacing the prepared Finger of Death), and the original Haste slot becomes unprepared but may be prepared again as normal.

For normally spontaneous casters, maybe just "spend 1 Taint point to use any metamagic without increasing the casting time".

Gorgondantess
2009-09-19, 05:14 PM
I like! I like quite a bit... does the taint still grant bonus feats?
Also, honestly, some more bonuses wouldn't be out of hand. Maybe spend a certain amount of taint points to gain that amount as a bonus to DCs?