PDA

View Full Version : D&D 3.x Class Tainted Mystic prestige class + custom taint rules



dboxcar
2016-07-26, 01:51 PM
The Taint of the Far Realm

This version of taint represents the corruption of the bizarre and unfathomable energies of the Far Realm on creatures within the Great Wheel. Taint can be received many ways; through contact with a being from the Far Realm or an obyrith demon from the depths of the Abyss, from forbidden knowledge locked away in ancient tomes, from exposure to acts of sickening evil and madness, and more.
A character’s taint applies as a direct penalty to their Wisdom. This penalty reflects the traumatic impact of the Far Realm on their mental health. In addition, the character manifests symptoms depending on their level of taint (see below). If a character ever has taint enough to reduce their Wisdom score to zero, that character either dies or goes insane (DM choice as to the exact nature of the disaster, but the player character ceases playing that character for a time). Redeeming or resurrecting a character that dies in this way can have unfortunate consequences or side-effects.
Creatures with the Evil subtype and aberrations, undead, and select outsiders (those from the Far Realm) are immune to the negative effects of taint and manifest no symptoms. Tainted creatures of these kinds automatically taint scores equal to their highest mental ability score (Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma), and their taint cannot change.

TAINT TABLE:
http://s31.postimg.org/kmsusklmj/Taint_Table.jpg

Mild Taint: The character gains one mild corruption symptom and one mild depravity symptom (see Heroes of Horror pages 63-66 for symptoms of corruption and depravity). Visible symptoms of mild taint may impose a -2 penalty on some Cha-based skill checks, depending on the target. This penalty may become a bonus when dealing with some aberrations or Far Realm cults.
Moderate Taint: The character gains one mild corruption symptom, one moderate corruption symptom, one mild depravity symptom, and one moderate depravity symptom. The character is treated as an aberration of their HD for the purpose of effects (other than taint). Visible symptoms of moderate taint may impose a -4 penalty on some Cha-based skill checks (non-cumulative), depending on the target. This penalty may become a bonus when dealing with some aberrations or Far Realm cults.
Severe Taint: The character gains one mild corruption symptom, one moderate corruption symptom, one severe corruption symptom, one mild depravity symptom, one moderate depravity symptom, and one severe depravity symptom. The character is treated as an aberration of their HD for the purpose of effects (other than taint). Visible symptoms of severe taint may impose a -6 penalty on some Cha-based skill checks (non-cumulative), depending on the target. This penalty may become a bonus when dealing with some aberrations or Far Realm cults.

Whenever a character gains enough taint to develop symptoms, roll randomly for all symptoms. After each encounter (or 5 minutes outside of combat) that the character experienced a net gain of taint, re-roll all symptoms.

Removing Taint
There are myriads of ways to cleanse oneself from the taint of the Far Realm, but one method easily accessible to players is through healing spells. Unless it is extremely powerful, a method of taint reduction cannot reduce taint down to a lower level unless the character was at the desired level of lower taint within the last 24 hours.
Each spell mentioned can only reduce a character’s taint once per day.
Atonement – This spell can remove taint, but with limits. First, it always requires a quest. Second, the caster chooses a number up to their caster level when they cast atonement, and the spell reduces the target’s taint score by that amount. This use of atonement, which costs the caster 500 XP, can reduce taint to a lower level regardless of how much time has passed.
Heal or Mass Heal – This spell reduces a target’s taint score by 1 point per three caster levels.
Miracle or Wish – These spells remove sufficient taint to place the target at the lowest threshold of the next-lower taint level, regardless of how much time has passed.
Remove Curse – This spell reduces the target’s taint score by 1.
Remove Disease – This spell reduces the target’s taint score by 1.
Restoration – This spell reduces the target’s taint score by 1 point per four caster levels.
Greater Restoration – This spell reduces the target’s taint score by the caster’s caster level, and can reduce taint to a lower level regardless of how much time has passed.


http://s31.postimg.org/nw5ftfqsr/Tainted_Mystic.jpg
On the surface she looks so sane...

Tainted Mystic
Prerequisites
Alignment: Any nongood.
Skills: Knowledge (the planes) 8 ranks.
Base Will Save: +4.
Spells: Ability to cast 2nd-level divine spells.
Taint: Character's taint level must be moderate or severe.
Special: The character must be alive. The character must have gained at least one point of their taint via one of the following; 1). Their own dark research, 2). Direct witness to an entity of or portal to the Far Realm, or 3). Witnessed and/or caused a horrible, tainting event.

http://s32.postimg.org/rx8p0b5th/Tainted_Mystic_Table.jpg

HD: d12
Class Skills (2+Int modifier per level): Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Decipher Script (Int), Disguise (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (dungeoneering), Knowledge (the planes), and Spellcraft (Int).

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Tainted mystics are proficient with all simple weapons. They do not gain proficiency with any type of armor or shield.

Spells per Day/ Spells Known: When a new tainted mystic level is gained, the character gains new spells known and spells per day as if she had also gained a level in a divine spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that she adds the level of tainted mystic to the level of whatever other divine spellcasting class she has, then determines spells known, spells per day, and caster level accordingly.

Blood Component (Su): A tainted mystic may use blood in place of specific spells' material/XP components (these spells are underlined in the cultist spell list). Substituting blood for a costly component requires drawing a great deal of blood, which is represented by vile damage. A tainted mystic deals more vile damage to herself when drawing a large amount of blood, as shown on the table below. When using blood to replace a costly component in this way, the tainted mystic need not make a Concentration check. With planar ally / planar binding spells, the tainted mystic may offer blood as payment using a similar conversion.


Component Cost
Blood Component


1—10 gp
1 vile damage per gp of component cost


11—100 gp
10 vile damage + 1 damage per 10 gp over 10 gp (round up)


101+ gp
19 vile damage + 1 damage per 100 gp over 100 gp (round up)


XP cost
1 vile damage per 5 points of XP cost


A tainted mystic heals vile damage at a rate of 1 damage/minute. A tainted mystic also heals ability damage taken from using vile feats at a rate of 1 ability point per ability per minute.

Level Advancement: The power of taint is seductive; once a character has tasted its attractions, it is hard to resist. Whenever a tainted mystic gains a new level and wishes to advance a level in some other class, she must succeed on a Will saving throw (DC 10 + her taint score). If she fails the saving throw, she must advance her tainted mystic level. If she succeeds on this saving throw, she can advance that level in some other class. A tainted mystic must make this saving throw every time she levels up, even if the most recent level she attained was not one in tainted mystic. As long as she meets the prerequisite for the class, the draw of the Far Realm is a lifelong struggle.
A tainted mystic may never use a daily ability that boosts her Will mod (such as per Mindset Shift) for this Will save.

Taint Suppression: While a tainted mystic is likely to accumulate a high taint score over the course of her life, this taint is not immediately obvious to onlookers. A tainted mystic's taint manifests in mental effects—insanity, rage, and nightmares—and in internal physical effects. A tainted mystic manifests mental symptoms of taint as normal, but replaces each physical symptom of taint with the Internal Corruption symptom (game effect: -2 Con). If a tainted mystic is split open, the character's internal corruption is obvious: Her body is full of bloody pus and strange growths, even internal limbs. If a tainted mystic enters a tainted area, her corruption immediately manifests externally as well, and she exchanges the internal corruption symptoms for other physical symptoms for the duration she stays in the tainted area. Barring these two conditions, it is impossible to detect a tainted mystic's taint based on appearance. A tainted mystic only applies one-half her taint score (rounded up) as a penalty to her Wisdom.

Tainted Spellcasting (Su): Rather than using a key ability score for spellcasting, a tainted mystic uses her taint score. To cast a spell, a tainted mystic must have a taint score at least equal to the spell's level. Tainted mystic bonus spells are based on a number equal to the character's taint score, and saving throws against tainted mystic spells have a DC equal to the tainted mystic's taint score + spell level. For spells that use "your key ability modifier," use the bonus your taint score would have if it was an ability score (for example, 18 taint would provide +4).
A tainted mystic accumulates taint for casting her spells. Every time she casts a spell, she must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + spell level) or increase her taint score by 1.
All spells a tainted mystic casts are evil spells.

Tainted Spellcasting affects all spellcasting the tainted mystic possesses or gains, not just the casting that is advanced with the "+1 level of existing divine class" granted by the class.

Mindset Shift (Ex): At 2nd level, the tainted mystic undergoes a fundamental shift in the way her mind works. She permanently loses 2 points of Wisdom, and if this would result in her taint score killing her or otherwise incapacitating her character, her taint score is reduced to 2 below the deadly value.
Once per day when making a Will saving throw, a Tainted Mystic may choose to add her taint score instead of her Will mod to the roll as she gains mad insight.
This mindset also affects the tainted mystic’s outlook on companions, and she prefers summoned horrors to natural creatures:
• A tainted mystic’s summon monster spells summon pseudonatural creatures (replacing the celestial or fiendish template, if applicable). If the tainted mystic has a familiar, she must sacrifice it permanently (though this causes no XP loss).
• A tainted mystic with an animal companion must sacrifice it permanently. In return for sacrificing her animal companion, a tainted mystic gains the benefit of the Ashbound feat (if she meets the prerequisites; see page 50 of the Ebberon Campaign Setting for details), and all the summon natures ally spells the tainted mystic casts summon pseudonatural creatures instead of mundane ones.
A tainted mystic that sacrifices an animal companion also gains the Augment Summoning feat as a bonus feat, even if she does not meet the prerequisites. A tainted mystic who does not sacrifice a companion gains neither this nor the benefit listed above.
(The pseudonatural template used for these summoned creatures is on pages 160-161 of Complete Arcane.)
Finally, if the tainted mystic is lawful, the pull of the Far Realm changes her alignment, shifting the lawful aspect of her alignment to neutral (the good-evil aspect of her alignment is unaffected, although most tainted mystics become evil around this time, if they weren’t already). This may necessitate the changing of divine patron, which the tainted mystic may do immediately.

Forbidden Lore: Tainted mystics gather knowledge of the Far Realm. At 3rd level, a tainted mystic gains the ability to know legends or information about supernatural, horrific, tainted, aberrant, or otherwise forbidden subjects, just as a bard can with bardic knowledge. She adds her taint score (up to her character level) and her Intelligence modifier to this check.

Chilling Certainty (Ex): At 4th level, a tainted mystic’s certainty in the power of entities beyond the reach of normal space and time lends her fell power. An evil tainted mystic may choose to become the servant of an elder evil, receiving vile bonus feats (1 + 1 per five character levels; see page 10 of Elder Evils, as well as The Book of Vile Darkness and Heroes of Horror, for more on vile feats). A tainted mystic still receives divine spells as if they had an appropriate god (normally, followers of elder evils are not granted divine spells). Clerics who chose this option lose their two domains, but gain a domain consistent with the elder evil's portfolio. Neutral tainted mystics, or evil tainted mystics who do not wish to renounce their deities, instead gain a single bonus tainted feat (which is exchanged for the appropriate number of vile feats should they later chose to follow an elder evil). Whether or not a character decides to follow one of these entities, constantly dwelling on these outer beings is mentally corrosive, and a 4th-level tainted mystic takes a -2 penalty to all Bluff, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, and wild empathy checks. These skill penalties become bonuses when dealing with aberrations or Far Realm cults.

Aberrant Lore (Ex): At 5th level, a tainted mystic has attained an innate understanding of objects, places, and creatures that carry the taint and madness of the Far Realm. By concentrating as a full-round action and focusing her attention on a creature, object, or specific site within 60 ft, she can determine if it carries or transmits taint.
In the case of a creature, a tainted mystic can determine the strength of its taint score: mild, moderate, or severe.
In the case of an object, by spending a full hour examining it she can determine its magical properties as if she had cast identify on it (see page 243 of the Player’s Handbook).
In the case of a location, she can determine its magical properties, if it has any, in the same way as with an object. Even if it has no magical properties but is tainted by some horrific event in the past, she receives a vision of the event. Examining a location requires spending 1 hour in the location.

Mad Certainty: At 6th level, the tainted mystic gains lesser planar binding as a 5th-level spell, planar binding as a 7th-level spell, and greater planar binding as a 9th-level spell all as bonus spells known for her divine casting class, with these exceptions. She summons aberrations instead of outsiders or elementals, and she gains an extra 2d6 points of taint whenever she casts one of these spells, regardless of whether it succeeds. Contact with these alien entities causes her mental faculties to continue to degrade. She receives a -4 penalty on all Cha-based skill checks and wild empathy checks (which supersedes her previous penalties), and she permanently loses 1 point of Charisma.
(If Mad Certainty poses too much of a difficulty in terms of player power or ability, the DM may opt for the additional caveat that planar binding and greater planar binding must be used to summon multiple aberrations, not a single creature of the full HD option. The possibility of summoning a beholder or a Thoon elder brain can certainly break or derail the game).
These skill penalties become bonuses when dealing with aberrations or Far Realm cults.

Outré Lore (Sp): Beginning at 7th level, a tainted mystic’s knowledge of lore beyond the realm of common experience is broadened and magically augmented. Once per day, she may use contact other plane (see pages 212-213 of the Player’s Handbook) as a spell-like ability. If her Intelligence and Charisma temporarily decrease as a result of using this ability, she must make a Will save or have her taint score increase by 1d6. The DC for this Will save equals [the DC of the Intelligence check to avoid the ability score decrease + 10].

Insane Certainty: At 8th level, the tainted mystic receives a -6 penalty on all Cha-based skill checks and wild empathy checks (superseding her previous penalties), and she loses another 1 point of Charisma. These skill penalties become bonuses when dealing with aberrations or Far Realm cults.
In addition, her madness leaches into the world around her, spooking natural creatures. Animals will not willingly come within 30 feet of the tainted mystic, and if forced to do so they remain panicked as long as they are within that range.

Heretical Lore: Beginning at 9th level, a tainted mystic gains contracts with evil extraplanar beings from this multiverse and beyond. These beings can grant boons, at a price. As often as once per day, a tainted mystic may use a standard action to call upon these entities to grant a limited wish (see page 248 of the Player’s Handbook), with no XP cost attached. However, using this ability increases her taint score by 1d6 points, and results in the imposition of a geas/quest (see page 234 of the Player’s Handbook) that requires her to perform some evil act in repayment of the favor.

Alien Transcendence (Su): A 10th-level tainted mystic, because of long association with alien entities and intense study of insane secrets, transcends her mortal form and becomes a pseudonatural creature, gaining the pseudonatural template (type changes to outsider, true strike on one attack per day, acid and electricity resist 15, DR 10/magic, SR 10 + character level, Alternate Form; see pages 160-161 in Complete Arcane). While in Alternate Form, she does not suffer the physical symptoms of taint, raising her effective Constitution by 4 or 6 due to her lack of internal corruption. In Alternate Form, she automatically fails the Fortitude save to avoid gaining taint from casting. She no longer takes ability penalties due to aging and cannot be magically aged. Ability score bonuses still accrue, and any penalties the tainted mystic might have already remain in place. When her time is up, or whenever she dies (whatever the cause; 10th level tainted mystics whose taint rises too high always die rather than going insane), a visible hole in reality is ripped open before her, and the tainted mystic is stolen away by horrible entities, sucked into the Far Realm, and never seen again.
(Again, if the prospect of the character having oodles of HP but dying permanently does not fit with the game, Alien Transcendence may be altered such that the tainted mystic keeps the Con drain and does not get devoured by Cthulhu upon death until her time is up.)

dboxcar
2016-07-26, 01:54 PM
Please do let me know what y'all think!

dragonjek
2016-07-27, 09:45 AM
A minor thing--not necessarily a mistake, but a potential problem.

Taint Suppression isn't optional--they can't choose to display their corruptions. Aside from the roleplaying opportunities lost, this forces a -2 Con penalty on them for every corruption they get. As since they have a lot of ways to get taint, they'll likely gather quite a few. Even starting out, the class requires moderate or severe taint; that's a -4 or -6 to Constitution right off the bat. That hurts.

dboxcar
2016-07-27, 10:00 AM
Taint Suppression isn't optional--they can't choose to display their corruptions.

This was intentional, but I'd be interested to hear what you think about it;
Since the HD of the class is so big, the -6 Con gives them hp each level as if it were a D6 HD (minus 15 for the five levels of other class), much like Archivist. Since the BAB is so low, this is a straight casting class (like straight Archivist). With DC's for save-or-dies around 10 points higher than a boring unoptimized cleric (the major draw/problem with tainted classes), there ought to be more serious drawbacks. Hence the mandated Con penalty.

pi4t
2016-07-30, 08:53 AM
Hmm. Looks like the best entry to the class would be archivist, so you aren't suffering penalties to your casting ability score before you get into the class.

Am I understanding correctly that you reroll symptoms after every encounter? Or do you just reroll them all when you change what category of taint you're in? Either way, I'd have said it would be better to keep all your symptoms, fixed, until you drop into a low enough category of taint to cure you of them.

dboxcar
2016-08-04, 10:10 AM
Hmm. Looks like the best entry to the class would be archivist, so you aren't suffering penalties to your casting ability score before you get into the class.
I definitely had archivist in mind. Delving into things best left unknown to mortals and all that.


I understanding correctly that you reroll symptoms after every encounter? Or do you just reroll them all when you change what category of taint you're in? Either way, I'd have said it would be better to keep all your symptoms, fixed, until you drop into a low enough category of taint to cure you of them.
For me, the stagnation of sticking with a fixed set of symptoms is almost too... random? As crazy as it sounds. Because based on one roll, you could get stuck with an ideal set or a really awful set, with very little way to change it. Plus, when you re-roll after every encounter, it adds another element of risk; will my Wisdom temporarily go down even further? Will I suddenly not be able to use healing spells? Of course, outside of combat, the tainted mystic can willingly fail her save to gain taint and cast cure minor wounds on herself to re-roll her symptoms, but then she has more taint to deal with. All in all, I feel like it helps with the risk-management metagame that I was going for with this class.
Flavorwise, I also like the idea that even what kind of madness a tainted mystic has is random and unpredictable.