[OA/Rokugun] How do you completely remove Taint?

[DM_Matt]

Is there any way to completely remove taint from someone? OA seems to imply that its permanent, and that even a Wish or Miracle cant fix it. I think that having it last forever makes Taint weapons and not so high level spells that Taint a bit overpowered.

 

[hong]

There's the 6th level "final rest" spell from AEG's Rokugan book. It removes all Taint from the subject, however the caster takes 1d6 damage and the subject takes 10d8 damage and is stunned for 2 rounds.

 

[DM_Matt]

There's the 6th level "final rest" spell from AEG's Rokugan book. It removes all Taint from the subject, however the caster takes 1d6 damage and the subject takes 10d8 damage and is stunned for 2 rounds.

thats good....being that the 2 beings IMC in immediate need of untaintitude are 17th level, they can survive that.

 

[nameless]

10d8 might even be getting off light. In the original L5R source material, it was completely impossible to get rid of the last point of taint. It was possible to destroy most of the taint in an individual, but only something of artifact power could completely remove the taint from someone. In the original L5R, final rest simply killed the recipient, but it does make some sense that a truly epic individual could withstand it.

-nameless

 

[hong]

10d8 might even be getting off light. In the original L5R source material, it was completely impossible to get rid of the last point of taint. It was possible to destroy most of the taint in an individual, but only something of artifact power could completely remove the taint from someone. In the original L5R, final rest simply killed the recipient, but it does make some sense that a truly epic individual could withstand it.

-nameless

I've not seen much of the original L5R material, but my impression is that the default campaign assumptions involved inter-clan warfare and intrigue, as opposed to opening up a can of whupass on the foul denizens of the Shadowlands. In an inter-clan conflict setting, it might make sense to have Taint be unremovable; however, if you want to stage an old-skool heroic Crusade Against Evil, which is what D&D tends to encourage, it may not be such a good idea.

 

[nameless]

You hit the nail pretty much on the head. There was a lot of inter-clan plotlines stressed in the original material. The problem with fighting against the shadowlands was multifold, too.

First, most of it wasn't statted and given hard rules; a lot of stuff was done this way to give GMs leeway. Second, the shadowlands oni were supposed to be fearsome, corrupting things capable of wiping out whole legions of troops singlehandedly. Unfortunately, most of the shadowlands beasties are about even matches for single low-ranking samurai with decent combat statistics. Third, the shadowlands were made to seem like an unconquerable foe. The PCs could kill a bunch of oni, goblins, and ogres, sure. But no matter how many goblins they killed, there would still be more; there was no way to really get anything substantial done, and that made fighting the shadowlands notoriously unrewarding.

I agree that the clan infighting wasn't a good way to make an RPG. When the party is guaranteed to have characters who automatically are at odds with each other, it makes plausibility get a little stretched. When you throw into the mix that each character is only doing his current mission at the request of his lord, it becomes even more implausible to keep the party together on multiple sessions. Enough ranting...

If you don't want to use final rest, see if you can find information on an nemuranai (read: artifact) called the Jade Goblet. It removes taint from someone who drinks from it, but it only works a few times. It makes a nice side quest or plot hook.

-nameless

 

[DM_Matt]

Hmmm, maybe I will...its a PC and his cohort, and beyond any other PCs, they have led rather scetchy lives...I dont tihnk that they have quite the purity of mind to put their full power up against the taint.

The Cohort was a former cat burgler (Cg, though), who was posessed by a planer rakshasa and turned assassin for a few years before the PCs captured her and unposessed her.

BTW, this is a FR campaign where the baddies, worshippers of Tiamat, who as the PCs just found out, is the same goddess as Shar, are trying to reestablish primal chaos by breaking down the boundaries between planes....one of the things they did was open a portal to Jijoku.

Anyway, I am using a modified version of that Harper splinter group that Khelben and laeral founded (except I cut out Khelben entirely and widenbed its scope), and the now-tainted PC took 50k from laeral (who was MOSTLY lying as to the reason to kill) to assaassinate a Master harper that was on the verge of discovering the new group.

So, these tainted characters do most literally have souls slightly tainted with evil.

 

[kreynolds]

Is there any way to completely remove taint from someone?

A good dose of Monostat 7 will do it.

 

[Cyraneth]

Well, if 10d8 point of damage is a little light, the spell Quest for the Pearl in Magic of Rokugan by AEG causes the recipient to lose a level instead... Somewhat expensive, but equals being raised from the dead, so I guess it's okay...

- Cyraneth

 

[DM_Matt]

Well, if 10d8 point of damage is a little light, the spell Quest for the Pearl in Magic of Rokugan by AEG causes the recipient to lose a level instead... Somewhat expensive, but equals being raised from the dead, so I guess it's okay...

- Cyraneth

Not in a campaign wherre raise dead doesnt exist....