Sat, 06 Oct 2007 00:28:31 -0500 webmistress@dndresources.com (Forums) IP.Blog 60 Varient Rules Natural 20s and 1s

If a player rolls a natural 20 on a d20, the result is treated as if the player had rolled 30. The player then rolls another d20, and if the result produces yet another natural 20, then the result is automatic success.

If a player rolls a natural 1 on a d20, the result is treated as if the player have rolled -10. The player then rolls another d20, and if the result is yet another natural 1, then the result is automatic failure.]]> Sat, 20 May 2006 12:14:20 -0500 Varient Rules
A living creature with a Constitution score has a number of wound points equal to twice his Constitution modifier multiplied by a size modifier, and a number of mortality points equal to his Cosntitution modifier multiplied by a size modifier.

A construct has a set number of hit points that represents the amount of damage its body can take before being destroyed. When no hit points remain, it is destroyed. This is beacuse constructs are more like objects than living things.

A corporeal undead creature has 1.5 times the number of wound points it had when it was alive. When it no longer has any wound points, it is destroyed.

An incorporeal undead or a natural undead (one not created from a once-living creature) has a number of wound points equal to twice its Wisdom score modified by a size modifier.

Size Modifiers
Size.....................Modifier
Fine.........................1/8
Diminutive...............1/4
Tiny.........................1/2
Small.......................3/4
Medium......................1
Large......................1 1/2
Huge..........................2
Gargantuan.................4
Colossal......................6]]> Sat, 22 Apr 2006 20:37:44 -0500 Lilium
Communist vs. Capitalist vs. Socialist

This is one of the great conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries, and it is not going away anytime soon. With the fall of the United States, due to inordinate amounts of internal corruption, only the EU stood between China's and India's rise to dominance. As a result, the EU quickly extended its membership to include the nation-states resulting from the collapse of the Great Experiment in an effort to stand up to the Chinese threat. Unfortunately, not even the Indians were able to stand up to the Chinese economic threat in the end. Now, with worlds colonized by all three superpowers, there are a multitude of planets that express each type of economic arrangement and the difficulties that arise from each.

Governmental Structure

Some forms of government consider themselves higher than other forms. In fact, most forms of government assert their own loftiness above all other forms. This continual debate over what form of governance is the best fuels some of the fires between various planets. These conflicts typically fall into one of two categories—those who wish to impose their form of government upon another world and those who wish to defend themselves against perceived threats from other forms of government.

Politial Intrigue

Owing to the complex nature of the Confederacy and the relationships between its member worlds and the vast amounts of wealth involved in ruling such enormous bodies of people, corruption and intrigue pervade every level of government. This is not to say that Earth and the Colonials are without their share of chicanery. Secrecy and loyalty are commonplace where shadow organizations conduct clandestine research in attempts to raise the affluence of their world, and rivals seek to discover and exploit every weakness of their adversary in both political and military combat.

Safty vs. Freedom

In a world rife with danger—both perceived and real—populations attempt to survive by many means. Some fear outside threats so greatly that they willingly relinquish personal freedoms in an attempt to ward off all danger in their lives, and others embrace their freedom in the face of uncertainty and adversity. When both types of people live on the same world, the population becomes polarized and internal strife threatens to tear apart great alliances.

Religious Tyranny vs. Individual Spiritualism

When there is little certain in life, many find solace in faith. Unfortunately, there exist those who would capitalize on faith and seek to utilize a people’s beliefs for their own personal gain. Organized religions rise in power, and through their influence, populations are controlled, manipulated, and eventually cowed into submission by those who would fancy themselves godheads. Meanwhile others try to shed the mantle of organized religion and stale rituals in favor of discovering divinity in their own way.

Good & Evil

Karma is real. There is that which is good and that which is evil. While most issues are painted only in shades of gray, there almost always exists a path of pure good and one of pure evil. Those who follow the path of good will find great rewards both in and after life while those who choose evil are categorically punished both during and after life.

Power of Nature

With so much technology at humanity’s disposal, people often grow arrogant in the face of the most powerful forces in the universe—those of Nature herself. Mankind may have tamed the stars, but events still occur that threaten the lives of millions if not billions. In these cases, humans can only cower before Nature’s might.

Racism in Society

After hundreds of years of spacefaring, mankind has yet to shed its prejudices and hatred. But rather than turning the destructive force of ignorance against only itself, mankind has also learned to despise and fear robots, those augmented by cybernetics, and the couple alien races they have happened upon. Also, with the rejoining of the Cosmic Stream, people are particularly terrified of those who are discovering magic again.

Cleansing Taboos

All societies have their own taboos, but some pervade all cultures. Many of these derive from base instincts hardwired into the brains of humans everywhere, but others are the result of cultural crosspollination. While some of these may be uncomfortable for some players, Lilium will explore such ideas as nudity, sexuality, cannibalism, and other ideas often held in great contempt by societies as a whole.

Self-Discovery

As a person grows, he discovers himself. As a person discovers himself, he grows. This paradox sums up much of what drives us as humans. The players will often be put in situations that force them to question exactly what it means to be human as well as what it takes to truly discover oneself. It is only through true knowledge of oneself that a person can reach the sort of inner peace required to truly discover his or her own divinity.

Finding Divinity

Most people wonder if a greater power exists. Of these, there are few who do not wonder what the nature of that power is. This quest for divinity is shared by almost every person in existence, and the few that discover the answers find a sort of inner peace uncommon indeed.

Definitions of Humanity

Perhaps the most pervasive theme in Lilium is the idea of humanity. There exists a thin line between a sentient being and a monstrous aberration of the human form. Often one finds that humans commit the greatest atrocities against those they claim are monsters. Other times, two warring sides become so engrossed in their struggle that they label each other as animals and behave no better themselves. Perhaps it is true that being human is synonymous with being ignorant, reactionary, fearful, violent, savage brutes keen on destroying anything that could possibly pose a threat to our own existence. Perhaps being human is recognizing this tendency and trying to subdue it in favor of a more peaceful existence.]]> Sat, 22 Apr 2006 19:29:38 -0500 Varient Rules Chi Points
Everyone has a reservoir of magical energy within them. This energy is called chi and can be used to produce magical effects in the world if channeled and molded properly. Manipulation of chi can also be used in healing, the promotion of virility, and the focusing and training of the mind and body. The amount of chi a person has is closely linked to their Constitution. People that regularly practice accessing their chi and promoting its flow tend to have larger reservoirs of chi upon which they can draw, while those who neglect their chi do not have as much.

Accessing one’s chi, drawing it forth, and molding it requires great presence of mind, and thus relies on Wisdom. The minimum Wisdom score required to draw forth chi and mold it into a spell is 10 + the spell’s level. Thus a person with a Wisdom score lower than 10 is unable to access his or her chi even though she may possess a large reservoir. The saving throw for spell is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the caster’s Wisdom modifier.

A person has an amount of chi at least equal to their number of Hit Dice x (1 + their Constitution bonus) (minimum 1 chi per HD). Those who train in the use of their chi may have more depending on the level of their ability. A person can only draw forth an amount of chi equal to their total Hit Dice per round. If a person ever uses all of his chi, she immediately loses consciousness and does not regain consciousness until her chi is fully restored to its normal maximum.

The body recharges chi at a rate of 1 chi per HD per hour of rest. A person is only resting if she undertakes no strenuous activities such as casting spells, fighting, anything that requires a Strength-, Dexterity-, or Constitution-based skill check, anything that requires a Strength, Dexterity or Constitution check, or a requires a saving throw. The person must not suffer from fatigue, stress, fright, panic, heat, dehydration, frostbite, disease, poison, or anything else that might interrupt her rest. A person may rest while walking or undertaking the minimal activity required to survive (i.e. cleaning, cooking, etc.).

Spellbooks
A magician keeps all of his spells in a spellbook. It is from this spellbook that the mage prepares his daily spells. He begins play with 10 cantrips and 3 1st-level spells plus one additional spell of either level per point of Intelligence bonus. At every new level, the magician may add two new spells of the highest level he may cast at that new level to his spellbook. This represents personal experimentation and research that she has completed over the course of the previous level.

A magician may also add new spells to her spellbook by copying them from other sources, such as scroll, borrowed spellbooks, or other places where the spell is detailed. To transcribe a spell, the magician must first be able to read the source from which he is copying. This generally requires an application of read magic, but can also be accomplished with a Spellcraft check (DC 20 + the spell’s level). If this check fails, she cannot attempt to decipher the spell again until the next day.

Once a magician can read the spell, she may attempt to understand how the spell works. This is necessary so that she can properly record the way to cast it. She makes a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + the spell’s level). A magician who has specialized in the particular sort of spell she is attempting to understand gains a +2 bonus on this check. If the check is successful, she understands the spell and can begin to copy it unto her spellbook. A spell copied from another spellbook leaves the spellbook unchanged, but a spell copied from a scroll disappears from the scroll once it is copied.

If the check fails, the magician cannot understand and copy the spell into her spellbook. If she is copying from a scroll, the spell does not disappear from the scroll. She cannot attempt another Spellcraft check to copy that spell until she has gained another rank in Spellcraft.

Recording a new spell in a spellbook requires one full day, regardless of the spell level. A spell takes up 1 page of a spellbook per level. Cantrips also take up one full page. A typical spellbook contains 100 pages. A magician can copy her own spellbook without making any checks. A magician can also write down any spells she has prepared that day from memory.

Preparing Spells
Magicians must prepare their spells at the beginning of each day. This is merely to refresh them in their memory so that they need not think to hard later when they should be focusing on molding their chi. By preparing their spells ahead of time, they can then cast any spell previously prepared that day whenever they see fit, so long as they have a sufficiently high Wisdom score and enough chi to do so.

In order to prepare a spell, a magician must have a Wisdom score at least equal to 10 + the spell’s level. She must then study her spell book for one hour, during which she commits all of the spells she chooses to memory. She may prepare spells at any time, but it always takes at least one hour. The condition required for spell preparation is merely a quick place free of distractions.

A magician can prepare a number of spells determined by her class and her Intelligence score. She may prepare spells more than once in a day, exchanging out one set of spells for another, but this requires an hour of time in proper conditions. A spell only remains prepared for up to 24 hours, after which it is lost. Every time magician prepares spells, a new 24-hour period begins; when a magician prepares a new set of spells, any previously-memorized spells are forgotten.

A magician prepares spells from her own spellbook. She may attempt to prepare spells from sources other than her own spellbook, but she must first decipher the spell and then succeed on a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell level). She must repeat the check to prepare the spell again, no matter how many times she has prepared it before. If the check fails, she cannot try to prepare the spell from the same source again until the next day. (However, as explained above, she does not need to repeat a check to decipher the writing.)

Upon preparation, the magician may choose to apply any metamagic feats he wishes to his spells. Spells modified upon preparation thus do not require any additional time to cast.

Casting Spells
Casting a spell works the same way regardless of the source of the spell or how it was prepared.

First, a magician must choose which spell she wishes to cast. This spell must be selected from among the spells she has prepared for the day, although it can be any one of these spells. To cast a spell, you must be able to provide any chi, somatic, audio, foci, ritual, or any other components for the spell, and she must be able to concentrate. If a spell has multiple versions, the magician chooses which version to use when you cast it. She does not have to prepare a specific version of the spell. Once she has prepared a spell, she can cast it for 24 hours before she needs to prepare it again, so long as she still has sufficient chi.
Casting spells requires concentration. If something interrupts a magician’s concentration while she is casting, she must make a Concentration check or lose the spell. The more distracting the interruption and the higher the level of the spell she is trying to cast, the higher the DC is. If she fails the check, she loses the spell and expends chi and other components just as if she had cast it to no effect.

Injury: If while trying to cast a spell, a magician takes damage, she must make a Concentration check (DC + points of damage taken + the level of the spell she is trying to cast). If she fails the check, she loses the spell without effect. The interruption even strikes during spellcasting if it comes between when she starts and when you complete a spell (for a spell with a casting time of 1 full round or more) or if it comes in response to her casting the spell (such as an attack of opportunity provoked by the spell or a contingent attack, such as a readied action).

If the magician is taking continuous damage, half the damage is considered to take place while she is casting a spell. She must make a Concentration check (DC 10 + ½ the damage that the continuous source last dealt + the spell level of the spell she is casting). If the last damage dealt was the last damage that the effect could deal, then the damage is over, and it does not distract you. Repeated damage does not count as continuous damage.

Spell: If a magician is affected by a spell while attempting to cast a spell of her own, she must make a Concentration check or lose the spell she is casting. If the spell affecting her deals damage, the DC is 10 + points of damage + the level of the spell she is casting.

If the spell interferes with the magician or distracts her in some other way, the DC is the spell’s saving throw DC + the level of the spell she is casting. For a spell with no saving throw, it is the DC that the spell’s saving throw would have if a save were allowed.

Grappling or Pinned: The only spells a magician can cast while grappling or pinned are those without somatic components and whose foci or material components (if any) she has in hand. Even so, she must make a Concentration check (DC 20 + the level of the spell she is casting) or lose the spell.

Vigorous Motion: If a magician is riding on a moving mount, taking a bouncy ride in a wagon, on a small boat in rough water, below-decks in a storm-tossed ship, or simply being jostled in a similar fashion, she must make a Concentration check (DC 10 + the level of the spell she is casting) or lose the spell.

Violent Motion: If a magician is on a galloping horse, taking a rough ride in a wagon, on a small boat in rapids or in a storm, on deck in a storm-tossed ship, or being tossed roughly about in a similar fashion, she must make a Concentration (DC 15 + the level of the spell she is casting) or lose the spell.

Violent Weather: A magician must make a Constitution check if she tries to cast a spell in violent weather. If she is in a high wind carrying blinding rain or sleet, the DC is 5 + the level of the spell she is casting. If she is in a wind-driven hail, dust, or debris, the DC is 10 + the spell she is casting. In either case, she loses the spell if she fails the Concentration check. If the weather is caused by a spell, use the rules in the Spell subsection above.

Casting Defensively: If a magician wants to cast a spell without provoking attacks of opportunity, she must make a Concentration check (DC 15 + the level of the spell she is casting) to succeed. She loses the spell if she fails.

Entangled: If a magician wants to cast a spell while entangled in a net or by a tanglefoot bag or while she is affected by a spell with similar effects, she must make a DC 15 Concentration check to cast the spell. She loses the spell if she fails.

Overchanneling
A magician can extract chi at a rate of 1 chi per level per round. Gathering additional chi beyond what is possible in a single round requires a full-round action during which the magician provokes attacks of opportunity, is flat-footed, and cannot move (he is not helpless, however). For game purposes, additional chi is considered to have been extracted at the beginning of the magician’s turn. A magician may choose to extract less chi than her maximum amount in any chosen round.

A magician must also concentrate to hold the chi while more is extracted. Every round she holds any amount of chi without releasing it in a spell, she must make a Concentration check (DC 15 + amount of chi currently held) or lose control of the chi and take damage. If her concentration is interrupted at any point while she holds chi, she must make a Concentration check as if she were casting a spell with a level equal to the amount of chi she is currently holding.

If a magician loses control of any chi she is holding, the chi is released in a violent 5 ft.-radius burst that inflicts 1 point of force damage per point of chi held at the time of the loss of control. This damage cannot be ignored in any way by the magician who held the chi, but others may employ various forms of magical protection against it.

If a magician gathers and holds an amount of chi, she must use all of that chi in the next spell she casts. Any chi not used results in an uncontrolled burst as described above, dealing an amount of damage equal to the unused chi. A magician can release the held chi at any time in a controlled manner with a Concentration check (DC 20 + amount of chi currently held).

Counterspell
It is possible to cast any spell as a counterspell. By doing so, you are using the spell’s energy to disrupt the casting of the same spell by another character.

To use a counterspell, a magician must select an opponent as the target of the counterspell. She does this by choosing the ready action. In doing so, she elects to wait to complete her action until her opponent tries to cast a spell. (She may still move her speed, since ready is a standard action.)

If the target of her counterspell tries to cast a spell, the magician makes a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + the spell’s level). This check is a free action. If the check succeeds, she correctly identifies the opponent’s spell and can attempt to counter it. If the check fails, she cannot do either of these things.

To complete the action, the magician must hen cast the correct spell. As a general rule, a spell can only counter itself. If she is able to cast the same spell and she has it prepared, she casts it, altering it slightly to create a counterspell effect. If the target is within range, both spells automatically negate each other with no other results.

Metamagic feats are not taken into account when determining whether a spell can be countered. Some spells specifically counter each other, especially when they have diametrically opposed effects. A magician can use dispel magic to counter another spellcaster, and she does not need to identify the spell he or she is casting. However, dispel magic does not always work as a counterspell.

Caster Level
A spell’s power often depends on its caster level, which for most magicians is equal to her class level in the class from which she is casting the spell. A magician can always use a spell at a lower caster level than normal, but the caster level she chooses must be high enough to cast the spell in question, and all of the level-dependant features must be based on the same caster level.

In the event that a class feature, domain granted power, or other special ability provides an adjustment to a magician’s caster level, that adjustment applies not only to effects based on caster level (such as range, duration, and damage dealt) but also to her caster level check to overcome a target’s spell resistance and to the caster level used in dispel checks (both the dispel check and the DC of the check).

Spell Failure
If a magician ever tries to cast a spell in conditions where the characteristics of the spell cannot be made to conform, the casting fails and the spell is wasted. Spells also fail if a magician’s concentration is broken and might fail if she is wearing armor while casting a spell with somatic components.

A spell that fails still drains the magician of the chi normally required to cast the spell and consumes any material components and experience components.

Spell Effects
Many special spell effects are handled according to the school of the spells in question. Certain other special features are found across spell schools.

Attacks: Some spell descriptions refer to attacking. All offensive combat actions, even those that do not damage opponents are considered attacks. Attempts to turn or rebuke undead count as attacks. All spells that opponents resist with saving throws, that deal damage, or that otherwise harm or hamper subjects are attacks. Spells that summon monsters or other allies are not attacks because the spells themselves do not harm anyone.

Weapon-Like Spells: Some spells are considered weapon-like spells and can have certain feats and abilities applied to them. These spells can benefit from combat-enhancing feats. Ranged weapon-like spells include any spell that requires a ranged touch attack or a ranged attack roll; touch weapon-like spells are any spell that requires a melee touch attack or melee attack roll. The following feats may be applied to the following feats in the following manner:

Improved Critical: Choose one category of weapon-like spells (ranged or touch spells). When you use a spell of the selected category, its threat range is doubled, so that a spell that normally threatens a critical on a roll of 20 has a threat range of 19-20. You can gain this feat a second time, choosing a different category of weapon-like spells.

Improved Unarmed Strike: You can add the damage of your unarmed strike to the damage of a touch spell by delivering the spell as a regular melee attack instead of a melee touch attack. The defender gets the full benefit of armor and shield, but if the attack hits, the unarmed strike deals normal damage over and above any damage the spell does as it is discharged. If the unarmed strike misses, then the spell is not discharged.

If the unarmed strike scores a critical hit, damage from the spell is not multiplied.

Point Blank Shot: You get a +1 bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls with ranged spells that deal hit point damage at ranges of up to 30 feet. Spells that deal only ability damage, bestow penalties on ability scores, or deal energy drain gain a +1 bonus on their attack rolls but get no bonus on damage.

Precise Shot: You can fire a ranged spell at an opponent engaged in melee without taking the usual –4 penalty on your attack roll.

Stunning Fist: When you use your unarmed strike to deliver a touch spell with a successful melee attack (as described in Improved Unarmed Strike, above), you also stun any target that fails a Fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ your character level + your Wisdom modifier).

Weapon Finesse: You can treat touch spells as light weapons and use your Dexterity modifier (instead of your Strength modifier) on your touch attack rolls with such spells.

Weapon Finesse: Choose one category of weapon-like spells (ranged or tough spells) and gain a +1 bonus on all attack rolls made with such spells. You can gain this feat a second time, choosing a different category of weapon-like spells.

Bonus Types: Usually, a bonus has a type that indicates how the spell grants the bonus. The important aspect of bonus types is that two bonuses of the same type do not generally stack. With the exception of dodge bonuses, most circumstance bonuses, and racial bonuses, only the better bonuses work. The same principle applies to penalties—a character taking two or more penalties or the same type applies only the worst one.

Combining Magical Effects
Spells or magical effects usually work as described, no matter how many other spells or magical effects happen to be operating in the same area or on the same recipient. Except in special cases, a spell does not affect the way another spell operates. Whenever a spell has a specific effect on other spells, the spell description explains that effect. Several other general rules apply when spells or magical effects operate in the same place:

Stacking Effects: Spells that provide bonuses or penalties on attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, and other attributes usually do not stack with themselves. More generally, two bonuses of the same type don’t stack even if they come from different spells.

Different Bonus Names: The bonuses or penalties from two different spells stack if the modifiers are of different types. A bonus that isn’t named stacks with any bonus.

Same Effect More than Once in Different Strengths: In cases when two or more identical spells are operating in the same area or on the same target, but at different strengths, only the best one applies.

Same Effect with Different Results: The same spell can sometimes produce varying effects if applied to the same recipient more than once. Usually the last spell in the series trumps the others. None of the previous spells are actually removed or dispelled, but their effects become irrelevant while the final spell in the series lasts.

One Effect Makes Another Irrelevant: Sometimes, one spell can render a later spell irrelevant. Both spells are still active, but one has rendered the other useless in some fashion.

Multiple Mental Control Effects: Sometimes magical effects that establish mental control render each other irrelevant, such as a spell that removes the subjects ability to act. Mental controls that do not remove the recipient’s ability to act usually do not interfere with each other. If a creature is under the mental control of two or more creatures, it tends to obey each to the best of its ability, and to the extent of the control each effect allows. If the controlled creature receives conflicting orders simultaneously, the competing controllers must make opposed Charisma checks to determine which one the creature obeys.

Spells with Opposite Effects: Spells with opposite effects apply normally, with all bonuses, penalties, or changes accruing in the order that they apply. Some spells negate or counter each other. This is a special effect that is noted in a spell’s description.

Instantaneous Effects: Two or more spells with instantaneous durations work cumulatively when they affect the same target.
]]> Sun, 26 Feb 2006 11:40:12 -0600 Varient Rules Madness Checks
· Madness checks are Will saves made by characters to avoid slipping into madness.
· Madness represent a character’s attempt to retain his or her sanity in the face of extreme mental shock or stress.
· The extent by which a character fails his save determines how severe his mental illness may be.
· Madness takes two forms – temporary and indefinite.
Provoking a Madness Check
· Madness checks are made whenever a character experiences some sort of mental trauma.
· Madness checks are always made when a character makes mental contact with an aberration, elemental, ooze, outsider, plant, or undead (DC 10 + ½ creature’s HD + its Charisma modifier).
· Madness checks are always made when a character comes to a realization that his world is fundamentally different than he had previously believed (minimum DC 20 – 30).
· Madness checks are always made when a character comes upon a grizzly scene such that it would provoke a sense of horror (DC 10 – 15).
· A successful save signifies that the character was able to maintain his or her sanity.

Failure
· A character that fails a Madness save by less than 5 suffers from temporary madness. Roll on the tables given below to determine the extent, duration, and nature of this madness.
· A character that fails a Madness save by 5 or more rolls 1d% for every 5

Temporary Madness

Indefinite Madness
· For every 5 points by which a character fails a Madness save, he rolls 1d% on the following table to determine the nature of his madness.

Roll Madness
1 – 10 Personality
11 – 25 Anxiety
26 – 30 Psychospecies
31 – 35 Mood
36 – 40 Impulse Control
41 – 45 Eating
46 – 50 Psychosexual
51 – 55 Other
56 – 65 Sleep
66 – 75 Substance abuse
76 – 80 Somatoform
81 – 85 Dissociative
86+ Schizophrenia/psychotic

Madnesses

Recovering from Madness
While it is quite easy to recover from Temporary Madness (this being natural), Indefinite Madness is nigh impossible to put behind a person. Such mental ailments are so severe that even were a character to receive modern professional help, only with years upon years of strong and steady progress would a person ever begin to remove the diseased state of mind and replace it with something only slightly disturbed. As a result, the only sure way for a person to shed himself of the burden of insanity is through restorative magic.

Should a person ever under years of therapeutic counsel, he may be able to learn to live with his madness or even begin to fight it off, but it is always there lurking just beneath the frail surface of his reality.
]]> Tue, 03 Jan 2006 20:27:07 -0600 Varient Rules
[Edit]
I have revised these rules slightly.

Taint
Taint represents the innate evilness of a creature, item, or location. Tainted creatures are not just villains, but the most foul of monsters. Only the vilest items have taint scores, as do truly evil locations.

Taint Scores· Untainted creatures have taint scores of 0 and do not provoke taint checks.
· Some creatures have Taint Scores.
· A creature’s Taint Score = 10 + ½ hit dice + Charisma modifier.
· An object’s Taint Score = 10 + ½ caster level to create.
· A location’s Taint Score is arbitrarily set.

Taint Checks
· A Taint score is a DC opposed by a Fortitude save. Your own Taint score is subtracted from your Taint saves. In this way, the more tainted you become, the harder it is to resist further taint in the future, unless cleansed.
· Encountering a tainted creature provokes a taint check.
· Handling, possessing, or being struck by or affected by a tainted item provokes a taint check.
· Entering a tainted location provokes a taint check.
· Only one taint check need be made for a single tainted creature, object, or location.

Successful Taint Checks
· No taint is acquired.
· Immune to the taint from the specific source that provoked the check originally for 24 hours.

Failed Taint Checks
· Your Taint Score increases by 1, and you must roll on the table below. The DC to avoid ill effects of taint is the same as the original Taint save DC.
· All future saves against taint and the effects of taint are reduced by your new taint score.
· When a creature’s Taint score equals its Constitution, its alignment shifts one step closer to Evil. When a creature’s Taint score equals twice its Constitution score, it shifts another step closer to evil.
· On a critical failure, your alignment shifts one step closer to Evil.

01-10 -- 1d4 Strength damage; Fort save
11-20 -- 1d4 Dexterity damage; Fort save
21-30 -- 1d4 Constitution damage; Fort save
31-45 -- 1d4 Intelligence damage; Fort save
46-60 -- 1d4 Wisdom damage; Fort save
61-75 -- 1d4 Charisma damage; Fort save
76-83 -- Minor Madness; Will save
84-91 -- Moderate Madness; Will save
92-99 -- Major Madness; Will save
100 ---- Random Corruption; Fort or Will save, whichever is higher

Corruptions
· Corruptions are physical deformities that result from exposure to taint.
· Corruptions can be extremely debilitating, if not lethal.
· Corruptions cannot be prevented in any manner, including magic, magic items, or artifacts.
· Corruptions can only be removed by one wish or miracle spell per corruption afflicting the character.

01-05 -- Your body turns into jelly. You die.
06-09 -- Your lips fuse and seal your mouth shut. You are permanently mute and must find some way to ingest water and food or die of thirst and starvation.
10-13 -- Your nose and olfactory rots off. You permanently lose the Scent ability, if you had it.
14-17 -- While you still to grow hair, it continuously falls out in bloody clumps. You are fatigued from blood loss at the start each day until you receive magical healing that day. A ring of regeneration negates this fatigue, but the hair continues to fall out.
18-21 -- Your tongue swells and becomes covered in boils and scabs that prevent you from articulating any form of speech. You cannot speak, taste, or use verbal components.
22-25 -- You're skin rots off. You are so overwhelmed by the pain of your exposed flesh that you cannot use your sense of touch.
26-29 -- Your tongue swells and becomes covered in boils and scabs that prevent you from articulating any form of speech. You cannot speak, taste, or use verbal components.
30-33 -- You're skin rots off. You are so overwhelmed by the pain of your exposed flesh that you cannot use your sense of touch.
34-37 -- You develop aberrant bone growths all over you skeleton that greatly restrict your movement. You can move only at half speed. You cannot run or even hustle.
38-41 -- Your legs whither and you are no longer able to walk.
42-45 -- Your arms shrivel and become useless.
46-49 -- You become sickly. You receive a –6 vile penalty on all saves against diseases.
50-53 -- You become deathly pale and your eyes grow sensitive to light. Whenever you are exposed to any light brighter than that of a candle, you suffer a –1 penalty to all rolls, checks, and saves.
54-57 -- You lose all spellcasting abilities. If you do not have spellcasting abilities, you take -4 to all saving throws against spells and spell like effects.
58-61 -- Your genitalia become permanently deformed and useless. You are sterile.
62-65 -- You instantly age to the start of the next age category. You incur all of the penalties for this and receive none of the benefits.
66-70 -- Your face and all defining features melt away, leaving a grotesquely smooth head and body.
71-75 -- Your tongue grows preternaturally long and forked.
76-80 -- Your skin grows pustules that cause a nauseating stench to fill a 5-foot radius around you. Anyone aside from you in that area must make a Fort save (DC 15) or be nauseated for 4d6 rounds after leaving the odorous area.
81-85 -- Your jaw falls off and your tongue hangs limp from your head. You drool uncontrollably and are always accompanied by the sound of dripping saliva and blood.
86-89 -- Your feet turn into cloven hooves. You grow 1 foot in height as a result.
90-94 -- You become infested with worms that live and burrow through your flesh, but cause you no damage. You can see them moving under your skin and occasionally one or two eat their way out of you and crawl away.
95-100 - Roll twice.

Protection against Taint
· Some materials can bestow protection against taint. Protected characters do not need to make Taint saves for so long as the protection lasts.
· A small broach or amulet of white fluorite costing 100 gp will protect a wearer for 7 days. A larger broach or amulet of white fluorite costing 400 gp will protect a wearer for 14 days. As the days progress, the fluorite slowly acquires an ashen hue and at the end of its time, crumbles into ash and dust. Such broaches and amulets have a hardness of 5 and 5 hit points.
· An amulet of black jade the size of a human finger wrapped in a clasp of gold and silver costing 150 gp will protect a wearer for 7 days. A necklace made of multiple fingers will protect the wearer for an additional amount of time as follows: 2 fingers for 14 days, 3 fingers for 18 days, 4 fingers for 21 days, 5 fingers for 24 days, 6 fingers for 26 days, and 7 fingers for 28 days. As fingers of jade absorb taint, they slowly gain an ashen hue and at the end of their time, crumble to ash and dust. A finger of jade has a hardness of 5 and 5 hit points.
· Some magic can protect against taint. It can do so in a manner of ways, ranging from providing bonuses to Fort saves against taint to completely warding a creature against taint.
· Some magic items may provide bonuses against taint or completely ward against Taint. Specific information as to how this works is given in the description of such objects.

Cleansing Taint
· As a creature acquires a Taint score, he begins to become more and more evil, but this can be reversed in a number of ways.
· A clear diamond worth 10,000 gp can be used in conjunction with certain rituals to draw the taint out of a subject. Doing so removes 1 point of taint per diamond, as well as any effects the taint may have caused. This is the most thorough way to rid someone of taint. At the end of the ritual, the diamonds have gained a blackish crimson glow that swirls in their center and are thoroughly evil, but have no taint score of their own.
· Some magic can be used to remove some taint, but no mortal magic can completely rid a person of taint. Similarly, no mortal magic can remove the effects of taint, even if all of the taint itself is removed.
· Good deeds may reduce a creature’s Taint score to 0. Only holy quests ordained by the deity to whom it is dedicated can remove taint. For every week spent completing a quest, the creature’s taint score decreases by 1.
· Some springs and locations sacred to various deities of good and purity may be able to remove taint. Such locations are characterized by their extreme remoteness and the dangers involved in reaching them. For each day a character spends resting at such a location, his taint score is reduced by 1 point. A character using this method to reduce his taint score can undertake no activities other than resting, eating, sleeping, and normal conversation. Such cleansing can remove all taint and all effects of taint.
· Areas can be cleansed of taint by priests and the like. Priests must hallow the ground for a year and a day, and during that time no other people may attempt to unhallow it. If someone even attempts to unhallow it, the priests must begin again.
· Unintelligent items left in a hallowed area for a year and a day lose their taint. Items that have an Intelligence score can only be cleansed through the use of magic, and even then they cannot be completely rid of their taint except under extremely special circumstances.

Evil and Taint
· Being of an evil alignment does not shield a person from the effects of taint. Taint represents something far viler than merely being evil. It is the pure essence of evil itself.
· Only the undead and creatures with the [Evil] descriptor are immune to the effects of Taint.]]> Wed, 21 Dec 2005 21:58:32 -0600 Lists
#1 - Archippos thought it was wise to tie himself up and lie down in the middle of a strange forest full of critters with his weapons out of reach. To make matters worse, he was stank of blood from a fight with a bear; the bear's carcass was lying not too far from him. And if that is not enough, he had just annoyed, if not outright angered a woodsman native to those very woods, who had just walked out of sight.

#2 - Lorean tried to choke a mummy to death.

#3 - Archippos told an angry druid that animals do not have souls, and then admitted to being involved in the murder of her pet dog.

#4 - Argus knowingly dove head-first into a trap.

#5 - Maria set out on an expedition without any food or water.

#6 - Maria tried to open a door by slamming herself into it repeatedly. Luckily she stopped before she knocked herself unconscious and just turned the doorknob.]]> Fri, 25 Nov 2005 16:48:23 -0600