Cleansing Taint
It is possible to remove taint from characters in several ways, including through the use of spells, the performance of good deeds, and cleansing in a sacred spring. Taint cannot be removed unless the tainted character wants to be cleansed.
Spells
The following spells can reduce taint scores when cast outside tainted areas. No character can have his taint score reduced by any particular spell more than once per day (though different spells can reduce taint if cast on the same character in the same day).
- Atonement: The spell can remove taint, but with limits. First, it always requires a quest. Second, the caster decides how much taint to remove when casting atonement, up to a maximum equal to the caster's level. This use of atonement costs the caster 500 XP. Atonement can reduce a taint score to 0.
- Heal: This spell reduces a character's taint score by 1 point per three caster levels, but it cannot reduce a taint score below 1.
- Miracle, Wish: These spells cannot remove taint except by duplicating the effects of other spells mentioned here.
- Remove curse, remove disease: These spells reduce a character's taint score by 1 point, but they cannot reduce a taint score below 1.
- Restoration: This spell reduces a character's taint score by 1 point per four caster levels, but they cannot reduce a taint score below 1.
- Greater restoration: This spell reduces a character's taint score by a number of points equal to the caster level of the cleric casting greater restoration. Greater restoration can reduce a taint score to 0.
Good Deeds
Simple good deeds are not enough to remove taint. A character wishing to reduce his taint score through good deeds must undertake a particular ritual under the guidance of one of his deity's clerics. The ritual prepares the character to undertake the deed.
Each deity's faith has a list of ritual good deeds that the faithful may perform to prove their dedication to their deity. For example, the faithful of St. Cuthbert may choose to put on garments sacred to their faith (and which identify their faith to anyone who sees them) and patrol a particular part of their home as part of the militia or city guard. Adventuring is never part of a good deed, and a character who undertakes an adventure prior to completing his good deed must begin again with the ritual.
Deeds must be repeated every day for a week. Upon completion, the character's taint score is reduced by 1 point. The character may continue the deed for another week to continue losing taint, or may return to the temple to undertake the ritual again and begin a different deed.
Alternatively, deeds may be quests undertaken on behalf of the deity. After the quest ends, the character's taint score is reduced by 1 point per week required to complete the test.
Good deeds may reduce a character's taint score to 0.
Sacred Spring
Springs sacred to a particular deity or cause are located in remote regions, requiring long and dangerous travel to reach. For each day a character spends resting and cleansing himself at a sacred spring, 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.
Cleansing at a sacred spring may reduce a character's taint score to 0.
Cleansing Places and Objects
Clerics may use
hallow to remove taint from an area, but it takes time. The spell must remain intact for a year and a day to remove the taint from the area. If, during that time, an opposing character casts
unhallow on some or all of the area, the effort is lost and must be reinstated by another casting of
hallow. (The
hallow spell only affects a 40-foot radius area, so large areas may require many clerics working simultaneously to completely guard them.)
Unintelligent items left in a
hallowed area for a year and a day lose their taint. Items that have an Intelligence score (and are thus treated as constructs for this purpose) can only be cleansed by using the spells mentioned above.
