Xuldarinar
2013-06-26, 08:04 PM
THE TAINT OF THE FAR-REALM
The far-realm, a place beyond the planes and beyond all reason. Creatures too horrifying to imagine dwell there and every place and creature they touch in the planes is forever changed.
Characters can acquire far-taint by entering places touched by the far-realm, or by coming into contact with an object or creature severely warped by its touch. This far-taint can manifest physically, in which case it is called warp, or mentally, in which case it is called madness. Both warp and madness are measured in points. Typically, characters acquire 1 to 3 points of warp or madness from exposure to the things touched by the far-realm. Prolonged exposure generally has the potential to bestow an additional 1 point of warp or madness for every 24 hours of exposure. The specific amounts of far-taint acquired from different circumstances will be listed later on.
In most cases, a character can attempt a saving throw to resist the effects of far-taint. Warp allows a Fortitude save, while madness allows a Will save.
Anytime a character acquires more points of warp at one time than their current Constitution modifier, they must attempt another Fortitude save (DC 15 + points of warp acquired). If this save is successful, they are sickened for 1d4 rounds; if they fail, they are nauseated for 1d4 rounds.
Similarly, any time a character acquires more points of madness at one time than their current Wisdom modifier, they must attempt another Will save (DC 15 + points of madness acquired). If this save is successful, they are dazed for 1d4 rounds; if they fail, they are stunned for 1d4 rounds.
Aberrations as well as certain outsiders are immune to any negative effects from far-taint, including the ability to accumulate far-taint. They automatically have effective warp and madness scores equal to half their charisma score +1. They take no penalties due to these far-taint scores, but they can use them to qualify for feats or prestige classes.
EFFECTS OF FAR-TAINT
Both warp and madness manifest in mild, moderate, and severe symptoms. The relationship between a character's far-taint scores and their Constitution and Wisdom scores determines the severity of the physical and mental manifestations of their far-taint. A character with a high Constitution score can acquire more far-taint before displaying physical symptoms, while a character with a low Wisdom quickly manifests mental symptoms of their madness.
To determine the severity of a character's far-taint symptoms, consult the table below.
Table 1-1: Far-Taint Thresholds
Con or Wis Score|No Far-Taint|Mild Far-Taint|Moderate Far-Taint|Severe Far-Taint|Dead/Insane
1|0|1|2|3|4+
2-3|0|1-2|3-4|5-6|7+
4-5|0|1-3|4-6|7-9|10+
6-7|0|1-4|5-8|9-12|13+
8-9|0|1-5|6-10|11-15|16+
10-11|0|1-6|7-12|13-18|19+
12-13|0|1-7|8-14|15-21|22+
14-15|0|1-8|9-16|17-24|25+
16-17|0|1-9|10-18|19-27|28+
18-19|0|1-10|11-20|21-30|31+
20-21|0|1-11|12-22|23-33|34+
22-23|0|1-12|13-24|25-36|37+
24-25|0|1-13|14-26|27-39|40+
26-27|0|1-14|15-28|29-42|43+
28-29|0|1-15|16-30|31-45|46+
30-31|0|1-16|17-32|33-48|49+
32-33|0|1-17|18-34|35-51|52+
34-35|0|1-18|19-36|37-54|55+
36-37|0|1-19|20-38|39-57|58+
No Far-Taint: A character with no far-taint manifests no symptoms.
Mild Far-Taint: A character who gains their first point of far-taint crosses the threshold into mild far-taint and must receive a restoration, heal or greater restoration spell or have their far-taint reduced to 0 within 24 hours or be permanently afflicted with mild far-taint. If a character retains mild far-taint after 24 hours, they manifest one minor physical or mental symptom from the descriptions below. A character with mild madness and miles warp manifests one physical symptom and one mental symptom. Once a character manifests a minor symptom, only a miracle or wish spell can remove the symptom and return the character's far-tant to 0.
Moderate Far-Taint: A character who gains enough far-taint to cross the threshold into moderate far-taint must receive a restoration, heal or greater restoration spell or have their far-taint reduced to mild far-taint within 24 hours or be permanently afflicted with moderate far-taint. If a character retains moderate far-taint after 24 hours, they manifest one moderate physical or mental symptom from the descriptions below. A character with moderate madness and moderate warp manifests one physical symptom and one mental symptom. Once a character manifests a moderate symptom, only a miracle or wish spell can remove the symptom and return the character's far-taint to mild. A character with moderate far-taint keeps the symptoms they gained from mild far-taint in addition to the new ones gained from moderate far-taint.
Severe Far-Taint: A character who gains enough far-taint to cross the threshold into severe far-taint must receive a restoration, heal or greater restoration spell or have their far-taint reduced to moderate far-taint within 24 hours or be permanently afflicted with severe far-taint. If a character retains severe far-taint after 24 hours, they manifest one severe physical or mental symptom from the descriptions below. A character with severe madness and moderate warp manifests one physical symptom and one mental symptom. Once a character manifests a moderate symptom, only a miracle or wish spell can remove the symptom and return the character's far-taint to moderate. A character with moderate far-taint keeps the symptoms they gained from moderate far-taint in addition to the new ones gained from severe far-taint.
If a character's warp score ever exceeds the severe far-taint threshold, they immediately die as if their constitution were reduced to 0. A creature who lacks a constitution score bases their warp thresholds on charisma. If a character's madness score ever exceeds the severe far-taint threshold, their wisdom score is reduced to 0.
To determine the exact nature of a character's physical or mental taint symptoms, roll 1d10 and look up the result on Table 1-2: Warp Effects or Table 1-3: Madness effects. If the character laters gains more far-taint and crosses the threshold into a higher level, they roll again to determine the next symptom gained.
Table 1-2: Warp Effects
{table=head] d10|Mild|Moderate|Severe
1|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
2|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
3|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
4|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
5|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
6|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
7|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
8|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
9|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
10|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined][/table]
PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS
(None, Yet)
Table 1-3: Madness Effects
{table=head] d10|Mild|Moderate|Severe
1|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
2|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
3|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
4|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
5|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
6|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
7|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
8|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
9|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
10|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined][/table]
MENTAL SYMPTOMS
(None, Yet)
Far-Taint and Bonus Feats
When a character reaches moderate far-taint, and again when he reaches severe far-taint, he gains a bonus feat. This can be ay feat for which the character has the prerequisites.
Since far-taint is cumulative, a character with a feat whose prerequisite is a specific level of far-taint retains access to that feat even after they acquire enough taint to rise to the next far-taint level.
By contrast, falling below the specified far-taint level for a feat renders that feat inoperative.
_______________________________________________
Theres more to come, and any ideas for symptoms and such would be appreciated. I want to take the taint system from HoH, make changes for better balance, and give it a far-realm flavor.
The far-realm, a place beyond the planes and beyond all reason. Creatures too horrifying to imagine dwell there and every place and creature they touch in the planes is forever changed.
Characters can acquire far-taint by entering places touched by the far-realm, or by coming into contact with an object or creature severely warped by its touch. This far-taint can manifest physically, in which case it is called warp, or mentally, in which case it is called madness. Both warp and madness are measured in points. Typically, characters acquire 1 to 3 points of warp or madness from exposure to the things touched by the far-realm. Prolonged exposure generally has the potential to bestow an additional 1 point of warp or madness for every 24 hours of exposure. The specific amounts of far-taint acquired from different circumstances will be listed later on.
In most cases, a character can attempt a saving throw to resist the effects of far-taint. Warp allows a Fortitude save, while madness allows a Will save.
Anytime a character acquires more points of warp at one time than their current Constitution modifier, they must attempt another Fortitude save (DC 15 + points of warp acquired). If this save is successful, they are sickened for 1d4 rounds; if they fail, they are nauseated for 1d4 rounds.
Similarly, any time a character acquires more points of madness at one time than their current Wisdom modifier, they must attempt another Will save (DC 15 + points of madness acquired). If this save is successful, they are dazed for 1d4 rounds; if they fail, they are stunned for 1d4 rounds.
Aberrations as well as certain outsiders are immune to any negative effects from far-taint, including the ability to accumulate far-taint. They automatically have effective warp and madness scores equal to half their charisma score +1. They take no penalties due to these far-taint scores, but they can use them to qualify for feats or prestige classes.
EFFECTS OF FAR-TAINT
Both warp and madness manifest in mild, moderate, and severe symptoms. The relationship between a character's far-taint scores and their Constitution and Wisdom scores determines the severity of the physical and mental manifestations of their far-taint. A character with a high Constitution score can acquire more far-taint before displaying physical symptoms, while a character with a low Wisdom quickly manifests mental symptoms of their madness.
To determine the severity of a character's far-taint symptoms, consult the table below.
Table 1-1: Far-Taint Thresholds
Con or Wis Score|No Far-Taint|Mild Far-Taint|Moderate Far-Taint|Severe Far-Taint|Dead/Insane
1|0|1|2|3|4+
2-3|0|1-2|3-4|5-6|7+
4-5|0|1-3|4-6|7-9|10+
6-7|0|1-4|5-8|9-12|13+
8-9|0|1-5|6-10|11-15|16+
10-11|0|1-6|7-12|13-18|19+
12-13|0|1-7|8-14|15-21|22+
14-15|0|1-8|9-16|17-24|25+
16-17|0|1-9|10-18|19-27|28+
18-19|0|1-10|11-20|21-30|31+
20-21|0|1-11|12-22|23-33|34+
22-23|0|1-12|13-24|25-36|37+
24-25|0|1-13|14-26|27-39|40+
26-27|0|1-14|15-28|29-42|43+
28-29|0|1-15|16-30|31-45|46+
30-31|0|1-16|17-32|33-48|49+
32-33|0|1-17|18-34|35-51|52+
34-35|0|1-18|19-36|37-54|55+
36-37|0|1-19|20-38|39-57|58+
No Far-Taint: A character with no far-taint manifests no symptoms.
Mild Far-Taint: A character who gains their first point of far-taint crosses the threshold into mild far-taint and must receive a restoration, heal or greater restoration spell or have their far-taint reduced to 0 within 24 hours or be permanently afflicted with mild far-taint. If a character retains mild far-taint after 24 hours, they manifest one minor physical or mental symptom from the descriptions below. A character with mild madness and miles warp manifests one physical symptom and one mental symptom. Once a character manifests a minor symptom, only a miracle or wish spell can remove the symptom and return the character's far-tant to 0.
Moderate Far-Taint: A character who gains enough far-taint to cross the threshold into moderate far-taint must receive a restoration, heal or greater restoration spell or have their far-taint reduced to mild far-taint within 24 hours or be permanently afflicted with moderate far-taint. If a character retains moderate far-taint after 24 hours, they manifest one moderate physical or mental symptom from the descriptions below. A character with moderate madness and moderate warp manifests one physical symptom and one mental symptom. Once a character manifests a moderate symptom, only a miracle or wish spell can remove the symptom and return the character's far-taint to mild. A character with moderate far-taint keeps the symptoms they gained from mild far-taint in addition to the new ones gained from moderate far-taint.
Severe Far-Taint: A character who gains enough far-taint to cross the threshold into severe far-taint must receive a restoration, heal or greater restoration spell or have their far-taint reduced to moderate far-taint within 24 hours or be permanently afflicted with severe far-taint. If a character retains severe far-taint after 24 hours, they manifest one severe physical or mental symptom from the descriptions below. A character with severe madness and moderate warp manifests one physical symptom and one mental symptom. Once a character manifests a moderate symptom, only a miracle or wish spell can remove the symptom and return the character's far-taint to moderate. A character with moderate far-taint keeps the symptoms they gained from moderate far-taint in addition to the new ones gained from severe far-taint.
If a character's warp score ever exceeds the severe far-taint threshold, they immediately die as if their constitution were reduced to 0. A creature who lacks a constitution score bases their warp thresholds on charisma. If a character's madness score ever exceeds the severe far-taint threshold, their wisdom score is reduced to 0.
To determine the exact nature of a character's physical or mental taint symptoms, roll 1d10 and look up the result on Table 1-2: Warp Effects or Table 1-3: Madness effects. If the character laters gains more far-taint and crosses the threshold into a higher level, they roll again to determine the next symptom gained.
Table 1-2: Warp Effects
{table=head] d10|Mild|Moderate|Severe
1|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
2|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
3|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
4|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
5|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
6|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
7|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
8|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
9|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
10|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined][/table]
PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS
(None, Yet)
Table 1-3: Madness Effects
{table=head] d10|Mild|Moderate|Severe
1|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
2|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
3|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
4|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
5|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
6|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
7|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
8|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
9|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]
10|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined]|[Yet to be determined][/table]
MENTAL SYMPTOMS
(None, Yet)
Far-Taint and Bonus Feats
When a character reaches moderate far-taint, and again when he reaches severe far-taint, he gains a bonus feat. This can be ay feat for which the character has the prerequisites.
Since far-taint is cumulative, a character with a feat whose prerequisite is a specific level of far-taint retains access to that feat even after they acquire enough taint to rise to the next far-taint level.
By contrast, falling below the specified far-taint level for a feat renders that feat inoperative.
_______________________________________________
Theres more to come, and any ideas for symptoms and such would be appreciated. I want to take the taint system from HoH, make changes for better balance, and give it a far-realm flavor.