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General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
Help me rename 4e's "fell taints"
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<blockquote data-quote="Cleon" data-source="post: 6283323" data-attributes="member: 57383"><p>Howdy Trevalon!</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I found two references specifically linking them to the Far Realm. The Monster Manual 2 says "Fell taints usually work only with their kind and other aberrant creatures of the <strong>Far Realm</strong>" (page 104), and the article in <em>Dragon #376</em> has "In some remote areas the boundary with the <strong>Far Realm</strong> might be so thin that fell taints move back and forth with ease" (page 7).</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>How about "Madness Wisp" or "Wisp o'Madness"?</p><p></p><p>Their schtick of "floaty translucent thing with an inscrutable mind that feed off psychic energy" is pretty much the same as a Will o'Wisp, which was an aberration / bizarre alien creature in earlier editions of D&D, so I could easily see the two as being related. The Fell Taint Pulsar even give out light like a Will o'Wisp, so the main mechanical difference between the two is Will o'Wisps can "blink out".</p><p></p><p>Maybe Taints are Will o'Wisps that have adapted to live in the Far Realms. Or, contrarywise, Will o'Wisps are Taints that have adapted to live in the Feywilds.</p><p></p><p>Will o'wisps already have a bunch of relatives in D&D - Boggart, Firestar, Ghostlight, Will o'Dawn, Will o'Deep, Will o'Mist, Will o'Sea and Will o'Shadow, so it doesn't seem much of a stretch adding another one. Even if they aren't actually related, I can see the "common folk" in D&D giving them a similar name because of the resemblance of their abilities.</p><p></p><p>There are many synonyms and regional names for a "Will o'Wisp" - e.g. Corpse Candle, Ghostlight, Ignis Fatuus (Latin, Fool's Fire), Ellylldan (Welsh), Teine Biorach (Gaelic), Herwisch (German, Rhine Valley), but most of those appear to be unsuitable since they refer to light/fire sources, ghosts, or the folklore is specific about them being some kind of faerie.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cleon, post: 6283323, member: 57383"] Howdy Trevalon! I found two references specifically linking them to the Far Realm. The Monster Manual 2 says "Fell taints usually work only with their kind and other aberrant creatures of the [B]Far Realm[/B]" (page 104), and the article in [I]Dragon #376[/I] has "In some remote areas the boundary with the [B]Far Realm[/B] might be so thin that fell taints move back and forth with ease" (page 7). How about "Madness Wisp" or "Wisp o'Madness"? Their schtick of "floaty translucent thing with an inscrutable mind that feed off psychic energy" is pretty much the same as a Will o'Wisp, which was an aberration / bizarre alien creature in earlier editions of D&D, so I could easily see the two as being related. The Fell Taint Pulsar even give out light like a Will o'Wisp, so the main mechanical difference between the two is Will o'Wisps can "blink out". Maybe Taints are Will o'Wisps that have adapted to live in the Far Realms. Or, contrarywise, Will o'Wisps are Taints that have adapted to live in the Feywilds. Will o'wisps already have a bunch of relatives in D&D - Boggart, Firestar, Ghostlight, Will o'Dawn, Will o'Deep, Will o'Mist, Will o'Sea and Will o'Shadow, so it doesn't seem much of a stretch adding another one. Even if they aren't actually related, I can see the "common folk" in D&D giving them a similar name because of the resemblance of their abilities. There are many synonyms and regional names for a "Will o'Wisp" - e.g. Corpse Candle, Ghostlight, Ignis Fatuus (Latin, Fool's Fire), Ellylldan (Welsh), Teine Biorach (Gaelic), Herwisch (German, Rhine Valley), but most of those appear to be unsuitable since they refer to light/fire sources, ghosts, or the folklore is specific about them being some kind of faerie. [/QUOTE]
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Help me rename 4e's "fell taints"
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