Evil / Undead Class : The Tainted
By Chris Tanner
Brutal monsters and evil villains stalk heroes at every turn, but if their claws, weapons, or spells fail to slay their enemies, some evil creatures employ a more subtle method - insidious temptation. Any hero can thus find himself traveling down a dark road - the first few steps always seem to make so much sense - but once the journey is begun, it can end only in death or damnation. Still, a valiant few who walk dark paths fight against the loss of their souls and virtue, and some manage to maintain a kind of balance, wrestling with temptation with each breath and even in their dreams.
A tainted is a once noble hero who has fallen under the sway of a fiendish parasite. The demon, devil, or yugoloth slowly tries to control the character's will, offering him vile powers in dark whispers. How a person becomes tainted varies greatly. Some are possessed, others are tricked, and still others willingly allow a fiend to share their soul, hoping to gain power in exchange. Once a person is tainted, a heart black as night, a will of unyielding evil, and a potency of unwholesome origin can often be concealed, but the eyes of the fiend cannot. The "eyes of the fiend" are the tell-tale sign of a tainted creature, a pair of strange eye-shaped markings that burn themselves into the character's chest.
Depending on the particular variety of fiend that inhabits his soul, the tainted takes on elements of its personality. Generally, demons cause the tainted to be prone to violence. Specifically, a succubus-possessed tainted might become lecherous and seductive. Bebilith-possessed might have an obsession with spiders. Vrock-possessed tainted take on the scavenging qualities of vultures, and tainted bonded with hezrou often lose all desire for good hygiene. Glabrezu-possessed become sneaky and silver-tongued. Nalfeshnee-possessed tainted are judgmental, prejudiced bigots. Marilith-possessed become covetous, particularly with jewels and other trinkets. Those unfortunate enough to have a balor inside them become instigators of the worst sort, sparking riots and violence.
Devils add to a character's desire for power and control, no matter what the cost. Osyluths make the tainted "snitch" more, blaming things on innocents. Kyton-tainted develop a disturbing obsession with sadistic torture. Tainted possessed by hellcats are prone to run on all fours and make bestial noises. Barbazu-tainted become aggressive and confrontational. Erinyes affect the tainted's personality much like a succubus. Hamatula-tainted become paranoid and distrusting. A tainted with a cornugon within his soul is often brave to foolish proportions. The gelugons are known for their elitist attitudes, and the tainted's personality changes to reflect this. A tainted dominated by a pit fiend develops a wicked pyromania and a fiendish cunning.
Yugoloths cause the tainted they possess to become greedy, selfish, and callous. Canoloth-tainted become overly stubborn Mezzoloths use the tainted's body to continue their martial training. Nycaloth-tainted become sneakier, using attacks from the shadows and other underhanded tactics. Ultroloth-tainted are scheming and cruel, and they tend to taunt victims before delivering the final blow.
If the tainted individual resists the advances of the fiend, he can use the powers without risk. He cannot, however, prevent the physical changes taking place in his body due to the activity of the fiend. Should the fiend's wiles pervert the character's mind far enough, he might become lost forever, trapped in the abyss of his mind, sealed in the shell of his body. Those who wish to rid themselves of the invading fiend must seek a way to banish it, but most tainted, even those who master the fiend within, fear the loss of the fiend's power.
A fiend usually prefers to take the noblest souls, so paladins and other good characters are at prime risk. There's nothing fiends crave more than to watch a pure heart melt away to be replaced with one as black as night. Fiends seem to take pleasure in polluting the most trusted and well-loved individuals. No one suspects these individuals of corruption, and their betrayals are the sweeter for it.
The tainted prestige class presents two paths of advancement, one for the spellcaster and one for the melee-oriented character. A character who wishes to become a tainted can choose from either prestige class path, but once a path is chosen, the character cannot then progress on the other. Both paths have the same class Requirements, Class Skills, skill points per level, and abilities, but they differ as described below.
Tainted Class Requirements
To qualify to become a Tainted, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Alignment: Any nonevil.
- Base Attack Bonus: +2.
Base Will Save: +1. - Special: The character must share his soul with the personality of a particular fiend. This fiend might or might not have knowledge of the character's actions depending on how the character became a tainted. See sidebars for suggestions about how to handle fiendish possession and tainted characters.
Class Skills
The tainted's class skills are Bluff, Climb, Concentration, Disguise, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), Knowledge (the planes), Listen, Move Silently, Ride, Search, Spellcraft, and Spot.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are Class Features of the tainted prestige class. In addition, some Class Features of the core classes are changed when a member of that class becomes a tainted.
Spellcasters: No matter what their alignment, tainted spellcasters cannot cast spells with the Good descriptor. Good-aligned tainted spellcasters have the option of casting Evil spells appropriate to their class, but each casting of such a spell causes the tainted to gain a fiend point (see below).
Cleric: Clerics who used positive energy to turn undead and spontaneously cast cure spells now have the option of using negative energy to rebuke undead and spontaneously cast inflict spells. They can choose to use this power at any time - it is not a permanent choice - but each use of negative energy in this fashion causes the tainted cleric to gain a fiend point. Clerics who already used negative energy suffer no penalty for doing so, but they gain no new ability. Clerics do not increase their turning ability when they take levels of the tainted prestige class.
Paladin: Tainted paladins have the option of using their lay on hands ability to cause damage like an inflict spell. Each use of lay on hands in this fashion causes the tainted paladin to gain a fiend point. In addition, a tainted paladin can cast contagion in exchange for a use of his remove disease ability. Each casting of contagion causes the paladin to gain a fiend point.
Fiend Points: A tainted is a character struggling to maintain ownership of his soul. Fiend points represent how much control the fiend has over the tainted's soul. At 1st level, the tainted has 5 fiend points modified by an amount according to the table below.
Condition | Fiend Points |
Alignment is good | -1 |
Alignment is neutral | +1 |
Alignment is good but has committed an act of evil in the past | +1 |
Character is a paladin | -1 |
When a character gains a tainted class level beyond the first or uses a fiendish power, he must make a fiend points check. If a fiendish power is continuous or can be used an unlimited number of times per day (such as a feat or a fly speed), the tainted must make the check at the start of each day (one check must be made for each continuous fiendish power). A fiend points check is a Wisdom check with a DC equal to the number of fiend points the character has. If the check succeeds, the tainted has fought off the fiend's temptations for the time being. If the check fails, the character gains a fiend point. On a roll of a natural 1. the tainted automatically fails and gains 1d4 fiend points. If the roll is a natural 20, the fiend's grip on the tainted's soul falters, and the character loses 1 fiend point. Fiend points cannot drop below 0. Willingly taking an evil action causes a character to automatically gain 1 fiend point. If at any time the number of the tainted's fiend points is equal to twice the tainted's Wisdom score, he has lost the battle over his soul, and his alignment changes to the alignment of the fiend inhabiting his soul. If the character's Wisdom is unnaturally low (due to ability score damage or drain) this alignment shift lasts until the character's Wisdom is returned to normal, but during this time, the tainted might commit many more evil acts and thus increase the number of his fiend points.
Spells Per Day/Spells Known: At specified levels gained in the tainted spellcaster prestige class, the character gains new spells per day and new spells known as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (metamagic or item creation feats, new familiar abilities, increased turning ability, and so on). This means that he adds these levels of the tainted spellcaster class to the level of some other spellcasting class he has, then determines spells per day, caster level, and spells known (if formerly a bard or a sorcerer) accordingly. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a tainted spellcaster, he must decide to which class he adds the new effective level for the purposes of determining spells per day and spells known.
Eyes of the Fiend (Su): A tainted's true identifying mark, the eyes of the fiend are tattoos burned into the chest of the character. Looking like two orbs of darkest night, they give the character a +2 competence bonus to all Intimidate checks and a +2 circumstance bonus to Intimidate checks against anyone who can see the tainted's tattoos. In addition, the eyes of the fiend give the tainted darkvision (through his own eyes) with a range of 60 feet.
Fiendish Power I: At 2nd level, the fiend begins to tempt the tainted with its evil gifts. The power granted depends on the type of fiend that possesses the tainted. When spell-like abilities are granted by the fiend, they are as the spells cast by a sorcerer of the tainted's character level.
- Succubus - Change Self (Sp): The tainted may cast change self as a spell-like ability once per day per tainted class level up to a maximum of 5 times per day, but the chosen form must have a beautiful appearance.
- Bebilith - Protection from Chaos/Evil/Good/Law (Sp): The tainted may cast protection from chaos, protection from evil, protection from good, or protection from law on himself as a spell-like ability. The tainted may use this ability once per day per tainted class level up to a maximum of 5 times per day and must choose which version of the spell to cast with each use.
- Vrock - Spell Like Abilities (Sp): 1/day - darkness and mirror image.
- Hezrou - Stench (Su): The tainted may emit a foul odor once per combat. Anyone within 10 feet of the tainted must make a Fortitude save (DC 17) or suffer a 2 morale penalty to attack rolls for 1 minute. A delay poison or neutralize poison spell removes the effect for one creature.
- Glabrezu - Spell Like Abilities (Sp): 1/day - charm person and enlarge.
- Nalfeshnee - Detect Chaos/Evil/Good/Law (Sp): The tainted may cast detect chaos, detect evil, detect good, or detect law as a spell-like ability. The tainted may use this ability once per day per tainted class level and must choose which version of the spell to cast with each use.
- Marilith - Bonus Feats (Ex): The tainted gainsTwo-Weapon Fighting as a bonus feat.
- Balor - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 2/day - see invisibility.
- Osyluth - Fear Aura (Su): The tainted can radiate a fear aura in a 5-foot-radius burst as a standard action twice per day. All those within the area must succeed at a Will save (DC 13 + the tainted's Charisma modifier) or be affected by a fear spell for 1d6 rounds. A creature that saves against an osyluth-tainted's fear aura cannot be affected by that osyluth-tainted's fear aura for the rest of the day. Baatezu are immune to the osyluth-tainted's fear aura.
- Kyton - Bonus Feat (Ex): The tainted gains the Exotic Weapon Proficiency (spiked chain) feat as a bonus feat.
- Hellcat - Keen Ears (Ex): The hellcat-tainted gains a +4 competence bonus to all Listen checks.
- Barbazu - Battle Frenzy (Ex): Once per day, the tainted can rage like a barbarian, gaining all the usual benefits and suffering all the normal penalties. The benefits of this rage do not stack with those provided by the rage ability of another class.
- Erinyes - Charm Person (Sp): The tainted may cast charm person as a spell like ability once per day per tainted class level up to a maximum of 5 times per day.
- Hamatula - Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 1/day - hold person and produce flame.
- Cornugon - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 2/day - detect thoughts.
- Gelugon - Cold (Su): Once per day, a gelugon-tainted can fill a foe with numbing cold with a successful melee attack or melee touch attack. The tainted can decide to use this ability after the foe has been struck. The struck foe must succeed at a Will saving throw (DC 13 + the tainted's Charisma modifier) or be affected as though by a slow spell for 1d6 rounds.
- Pit Fiend - Constrict (Ex): The tainted gains the ability to constrict foes for an extra 2d4 points of damage with each successful grapple check that is intended to deal damage.
- Canoloth - Bonus Feat (Ex): The tainted gains the Blind-Fight feat as a bonus feat.
- Mezzoloth - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 2/day - see invisibility.
- Nycaloth - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 2/day - invisibility.
- Ultroloth - Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 1/day - alter self and hypnotic pattern.
Dream Haunting (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, whenever a tainted falls asleep (or enters trance), he must make a fiend points check. If he fails, his rest is filled with horrifying images of anguish and despair, and he is shaken (suffering a -2 morale penalty on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, and saving throws) until he defeats a foe in combat, gains a fiend point, or makes a fiend points check (regardless of success or failure). This fiend points check does not cause a gain of fiend points when the tainted fails the check, but a natural roll of 20 causes the tainted to lose a fiend point.
Minor Physical Change (Ex): At 3rd level, the tainted's body shows the first signs of what fiend shares the tainted's soul. The change does not grant any special bonuses or penalties, but it often unnerves those who see it. The exact change depends on the type of possessing demon:
- Succubus: Tiny, vestigial bat wings grow on the character's back.
- Bebilith: Barbs sprout from the tainted's limbs.
- Vrock: The character's nose curves downward, mimicking a vulture's beak.
- Hezrou: Warts cover the tainted's entire body.
- Glabrezu: The tainted's eyes become violet in color.
- Nalfeshnee: The lower canines of the character contort into small tusks.
- Marilith: The character's skin becomes green and scaly.
- Balor: The character's skin becomes dark red.
- Osyluth: The character's fat is stripped away, making him shockingly skinny.
- Kyton: The character's eyes glow yellow, and all the hair on his body falls out.
- Hellcat: The character's hair grows rapidly but becomes translucent.
- Barbazu: The tainted grows a long, snaky beard that attracts vermin.
- Erinyes: The tainted sprouts useless, feathered wings from his back.
- Hamatula: Small barbs protrude from the tainted's skin.
- Cornugon: The tainted grows a short tail.
- Gelugon: The tainted's mouth changes into a set of blunt mandibles.
- Pit Fiend: The character's teeth now drip a foul-smelling fluid.
- Canoloth: The tainted's tongue becomes rough, like a cat's.
- Mezzoloth: The tainted's eyes glow red when he's angry.
- Nycaloth: The character sprouts a tiny pair of limp arms beneath his current set.
- Ultroloth: The tainted's eyes constantly change color at random.
Fiendish Power II: At 4th level, the fiend increases its pressure on the tainted and the potency of its temptations. When spell-like abilities are granted by the fiend, they are as the spells cast by a sorcerer of the tainted's character level.
- Succubus - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 3/day - polymorph self (humanoid-shaped forms only).
- Bebilith - Web (Ex): Four times per day, the tainted can shoot webs from the barbs on his limbs as a standard action. This is similar to a web spell, with a few exceptions. The range is 30 feet, and the webs are permanent, nonmagical, and cannot be dispelled. The DC for evading or breaking free from the web is 20, and there is a 75% chance that the webbing won't burn if any sort of fire is applied to it (check each round).
- Vrock - Spores (Ex): Three times per day, the tainted can make a spores attack like the spores special attack of the vrock. After making a spores attack, the tainted must wait 1d4 rounds before making another.
- Hezrou - Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 2/day - summon swarm and gaseous form.
- Galbrezu - Spell-Like Abiites (Sp): 1/day - confusion and deeper darkness.
- Nalfeshnee - Smite (Su): Twice per day, the tainted can cause a nimbus of multicolored light to play around his body. One round after enacting the ability, this nimbus of light explodes outward in a 60-foot-radius burst. Creatures in the area suffer 15 points of damage (Reflex half DC 18).
- Marilith - Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 1/day - animate dead and inflict serious wounds.
- Balor - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 1/day - greater dispelling
- Osyluth - Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 1/day - fly and wall of ice.
- Kyton - Chain Control (Su): The tainted can cause any chain in his hand (including a spiked chain) to lengthen 10 feet while it remains in his hand. This increases the reach of any spiked chain wielded by the tainted by 10 feet. In addition, the tainted can now climb chains at his normal speed.
- Hellcat - Pouncing Attack (Ex): If the tainted charges a foe during the first round of combat, he can make a full attack even if he has already taken a move action.
- Barbazu - Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 3/day - magic weapon and produce flame.
- Erinyes - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 3/day - suggestion.
- Hamatula - Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 2/day - doom and major image.
- Cornugon - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 1/day - dispel chaos.
- Gelugon - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 1/day - cone of cold
- Pit Fiend - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 1/day - wall of fire.
- Canoloth - Blindsight (Ex): The tainted's senses of hearing and scent become so great that he can perceive all creatures and objects within 10 feet. Negating one of the aforementioned senses reduces this ability to the benefits of the Blind-Fight feat. Negating both makes the tainted effectively blind.
- Mezzoloth - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 3/day - dispel magic.
- Nycaloth - Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 1/day - deeper darkness and fear.
- Ultroloth - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 1/day - prying eyes.
Hallucinations (Ex): After reaching 5th level, the tainted begins to hallucinate at random. Once per week during a stressful situation, the DM should ask the tainted character to make a fiend points check. If he fails, the mind of the character becomes distorted. He gains a fiend point and is confused for 1d4 rounds as his senses are filled with diabolical images of horror, suffering, and death on a random Lower Plane. A roll of a natural 20 when making the fiend points check causes the tainted to lose 1 fiend point.
Moderate Physical Change (Ex): At 6th level, the tainted undergoes a more severe physical change.
- Succubus: The tainted's natural appearance becomes stunningly beautiful, and he gains a confidence that others find compelling. This increases the tainted's Charisma by +2.
- Bebilith: The tainted's barbs increase in size and sharpness. His unarmed strikes now deal an additional 1d6 points of piercing damage.
- Vrock: The tainted grows feathered wings, giving him a fly speed of 50 feet with average maneuverability.
- Hezrou: The tainted's warty skin thickens and becomes even more wart-covered, increasing the tainted's natural armor by +3.
- Glabrezu: The tainted's hands twist and deform into crab-like claws. This allows him to make claw attacks that cause 2d4 points of slashing damage. However, the claws are not designed for precise manipulation, so the tainted suffers a -4 circumstance penalty on any check requiring manual precision (such as Pick Pocket, Open Lock, Disable Device, and so on). Note that making a claw attack with each claw incurs the normal penalties for two-weapon fighting, with each claw counting as a light weapon.
- Nalfeshnee: The tainted grows hulking and burly, increasing the tainted's Strength by +2.
- Marilith: The tainted grows a third arm. In addition, the tainted also gains the Multidexterity and Multiweapon Fighting feats. These feats replace Two-Weapon Fighting.
- Balor: The tainted's skin hardens and becomes scaly, increasing the tainted's natural armor by +3.
- Osyluth: The tainted grows a long, bony tail with a scorpion-like stinger on the end. This allows him to make a sting attack that deals 2d4 points of damage.
- Kyton: The tainted can fuse chains to his flesh, covering his skin with steel. If he chooses to do so, his natural armor increases by +3. The tainted can remove or fuse the chains as a full-round action.
- Hellcat: The tainted's body becomes translucent and pale, granting him a +6 circumstance bonus to Hide checks.
- Barbazu: The tainted's beard grows longer and more foul, Any foe grappled by the tainted has a chance to be infected by devil chills (Fortitude save, DC 14). See the barbazu's description for more details about the devil chills disease.
- Erinyes: The tainted's wings are now fully grown, allowing him to fly at a speed of 50 feet with average maneuverability.
- Hamatula: The tainted grows long claws on his hands, allowing him to make a claw attack with each hand that causes 1d6 points of slashing damage. Note that making a claw attack with each hand incurs the normal penalties for two-weapon fighting, with each hand counting as a light weapon.
- Cornugon: The tainted's tail extends, allowing him to make a tail attack that causes 1d3 points of bludgeoning damage. In addition, the tainted's skin grows thick scales, increasing his natural armor by +2.
- Gelugon: The tainted's mandibles sharpen, allowing him to make a bite attack that causes 2d4 points of damage.
- Pit Fiend: The tainted grows a long tail, allowing him to make a tail attack that causes 2d4 points of damage.
- Canoloth: The tainted's barbed tongue grows longer, allowing him to make a tongue attack that causes 1d4 points of slashing damage. The tainted gains the improved grab ability, but only with his tongue attack.
- Mezzoloth: The tainted's skin becomes like an insect's chitin, granting him a +3 natural armor bonus to AC.
- Nycaloth: The tainted's small set of extra arms grows to match his original pair. The tainted must take the Multidexterity and Multiweapon Fighting feats or using more than one arm to attack causes the usual penalties.
- Ultroloth: The tainted's brain cavity shifts and grows, elongating his skull. This enhanced intellect grants the tainted a +2 inherent bonus to his Intelligence score.
Fiendish Power III: If the tainted has not fallen by this point, the fiend continues to tempt it with unholy abilities. When spell-like abilities are granted by the fiend, they are as the spells cast by a sorcerer of the tainted's character level.
- Succubus - Tongues (Su): The tainted can speak and understand any language, but he can read and write only those he normally knows or learns.
- Bebilith - Climbing Barbs (Ex): Strong barbs grow from all the tainted's limbs, making climbing surfaces easy. The tainted gains a climb speed of 20 feet and the usual +8 racial bonus to climb checks.
- Vrock - Spell Like Ability (Sp): 1/day - teleport without error (self plus 50 pounds of objects only).
- Hezrou - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 3/day - gaseous form.
- Glabrezu - Spell Like Ability (Sp): 1/day - reverse gravity.
- Nalfeshnee - Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 1/day - call lightning and feeblemind.
- Marilith - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 1/day - teleport without error (self plus 50 pounds of objects only).
- Balor - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 1/day - fire storm
- Osyluth - Poison (Ex): Sting, Fortitude save (DC 14); initial damage 1d4 temporary Strength, secondary damage 2d4 temporary Strength.
- Kyton - Unnerving Gaze (Su): The tainted can make his face resemble his opponents' departed loved ones or bitter enemies. Foes subjected to the gaze must succeed at a Will save (DC 15) or suffer a -1 morale penalty to all attack rolls for 1d3 rounds.
- Hellcat - Rake (Ex): When the tainted grapples a foe, he can make two rake attacks with his hind legs at his full attack bonus. Each rake attack causes 1d4 points of bludgeoning damage. If the tainted pounces, he can also rake.
- Barbazu - Battle Frenzy (Ex): Once per day, the tainted can work himself into a battle frenzy similar to a barbarian's rage but without the ill effects afterward. See the barbazu's description for more details.
- Erinyes - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): At will - animate rope.
- Hamatula - Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the tainted must hit with a claw attack. Once he gains his major physical change, the tainted can impale the opponent on his barbed body if he gets a hold.
- Cornugon - Stun (Su): Foes damaged by the tainted's tail attack must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 17) or be stunned for 1 round.
- Gelugon - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 1/day - teleport without error (self plus 50 pounds of objects only).
- Pit Fiend - Spell Like Ability (Sp): 1/day - teleport without error (self plus 50 pounds of objects only).
- Canoloth - Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): At will - detect good and detect magic.
- Mezzoloth - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 2/day - cloudkill.
- Nycaloth - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 1/day - teleport without error (self plus 50 pounds of objects only).
- Ultroloth - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 3/day - scrying
Telepathy (Su): An 8th-level tainted gains the fiendish ability to speak telepathically to other creatures within 100 feet.
Craving (Su): Upon reaching 8th level, a tainted must make a fiend points check every day at dusk. In addition to the normal results of a fiend points check, failure means the tainted must kill (or destroy, in the case of undead or constructs) a number of creatures whose total Hit Dice equals the tainted's class level before the sun comes up. If the tainted cannot meet his quota, he suffers a -1 penalty to all attack rolls, damage rolls, ability checks, skill checks, and saving throws until the quota is met. The penalties cannot be removed by any other means short of a wish or miracle spell.
Major Physical Change (Ex): By 9th level, the tainted has fought with the fiend within so much that he changes dramatically in form to match his archenemy.
- Succubus: The tainted grows long, powerful claws on his hands that cause 1d4 points of slashing damage on a successful hit. Bat wings sprout from the tainted's spine, granting a fly speed of 50 feet with average maneuverability.
- Bebilith: The tainted's mouth grows deadly mandibles, allowing him to make a bite attack that deals 2d6 points of damage. In addition, the tainted's climb speed now equals half his land speed or 20 feet, whichever is better.
- Vrock: The tainted's face becomes like that of the vrock, causing him to grow a beak. This grants the tainted a bite attack that causes 1d6 points of damage. In addition, the tainted can make the stunning screech attack of the vrock once per hour. Every creature within 30 feet must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 17) or be stunned for round. The stunning screech is a sound-based supernatural ability.
- Hezrou: The tainted's mouth becomes large and frog-like, filling with many blunt teeth. This grants the tainted a bite attack that deals 4d4 points of damage.
- Glabrezu: The tainted's skin toughens, granting him a +7 increase to his natural armor.
- Nalfeshnee: The tainted grows more hulking and burly, increasing the tainted's Constitution by +2 and increasing his Strength by an additional +2.
- Marilith: The tainted's legs disappear, replaced by a snake's tail. The tainted gains a tail slam attack that causes 1d6 points of bludgeoning damage. Additionally, the tainted can constrict an opponent during a grapple, dealing 1d6 points of damage. The constrict attack only works against Medium-size or smaller foes.
- Balor: Huge wings spring from the tainted's spine, allowing him to fly at a rate of 90 feet with good maneuverability.
- Osyluth: The tainted's form becomes "skin and bones." His skeleton hardens, increasing his natural armor by +5. This also enhances his frightful appearance, increasing the DC of his fear aura ability by +2.
- Kyton: Chains fused to the tainted's body grow thicker and stronger, making the natural armor increase the chains provide +9.
- Hellcat: Like the hellcat, the tainted becomes invisible in any area lit well enough for a human to see. In other conditions, the tainted glows slightly and is visible from 30 feet away (60 feet away if the viewer has low-light vision).
- Barbazu: The tainted's skin grows as moist and scaly as a barbazu's, granting him cold and acid resistance 20.
- Erinyes: The tainted becomes a striking figure, and his Charisma increases by +4.
- Hamatula: The tainted's body is now covered in razor-sharp barbs. Any time the tainted succeeds at a grapple check to establish the initial hold on a foe or to damage a foe, he impales the foe on his body barbs dealing an additional 3d4 points of piercing damage.
- Cornugon: The tainted's muscles bulge beneath his scales, and his Strength increases by +4.
- Gelugon: The tainted's breath is now suffused with a hellish chill. Any time the tainted damages a foe with his bite attack, that foe must save against the tainted's cold ability. The cold ability is still a supernatural ability.
- Pit Fiend: The tainted's teeth lengthen into sharp tusk-like fangs and the green liquid dripping from them becomes a vile poison. The Fortitude save to resist the effects of the poison has a DC of 21. The initial damage is 1d4 temporary Constitution and the secondary damage is 1d4 Constitution.
- Canoloth: The tainted's form becomes hunched over, and he can now walk about on all fours should he wish. When the tainted carries nothing in his hands, he can move about on all fours, increasing his speed by 20 feet. His skin hardens, increasing his natural armor by +5.
- Mezzoloth: The tainted's body becomes inured to most attacks, granting the tainted damage reduction 5/magic.
- Nycaloth: A pair of huge green bat wings spring from the tainted's back, giving him a fly speed of 90 feet with good maneuverability.
- Ultroloth: The tainted's brain continues to grow, lengthening his cranium out of proportion. The tainted's Intelligence increases by an additional +4.
Fiendish Power IV: Further drawing on its vile potency, the fiend continues to entice the tainted with dark gifts. When spell-like abilities are granted by the fiend, they are as the spells cast by a sorcerer of the tainted's character level.
- Succubus - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 5/day - charm monster.
- Bebilith - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 2/day - plane shift.
- Vrock - Dance of Ruin (Su): If the tainted dances for 3 rounds, a wave of crackling energy flashes outward, dealing 2d20 points of damage to all non-demon creatures within 100 feet (Reflex half DC 15). If the dance is stopped, the effect is canceled. Unlike the vrock's ability of the same name, the tainted does not have to be dancing in a group to use it.
- Hezrou - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 2/day - blasphemy.
- Glabrezu - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 5/day - chaos hammer.
- Nalfeshnee - See Invisibility (Su): The tainted continually sees invisibility, as the spell.
- Marilith - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 5/day - bestow curse.
- Balor - Body Flames (Su): The tainted can wreathe his body in flames as a standard action. The tainted suffers no harm, but anyone grappling with him suffers 4d6 points of fire damage per round. The flames last 1 round per class level and can be invoked once per day.
- Osyluth - Know Alignment (Su): The tainted always knows the alignment of any creature he looks upon.
- Kyton - Animate Chain (Su): When making the full-attack action, the tainted can command the spiked chain he wields to make an attack at his highest attack bonus once per round.
- Hellcat - Scent (Ex): The tainted gains the scent special quality.
- Barbazu - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): At will - fear (touch range, not cone; one creature only).
- Erinyes - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 5/day - charm monster.
- Hamatula - Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 2/day - order's wrath and unholy light.
- Cornugon - Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 3/day - fireball and lightning bolt.
- Gelugon - Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 3/day - fly and suggestion.
- Pit Fiend - Spell-Like Ability (Sp): 1/day - unholy aura.
- Canoloth - Paralysis (Ex): Those hit by the tainted's tongue attack must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 15) or be paralyzed for 1 minute.
- Mezzoloth - Spell Resistance (Su): The tainted gains spell resistance equal to 10 plus his tainted class level.
- Nycaloth - Wounding Claws (Ex): The tainted's second set of arms grows nasty claws that can cause 1d6 points of slashing damage with a successful hit. A living creature damaged by a claw continues to bleed for 1 point of damage per round thereafter. Multiple claw wounds result in cumulative bleeding loss (two wounds deal 2 points of damage per round, and so on). The bleeding can be stopped only by a successful Heal check (DC 15) or the application of any cure spell or other healing spell (heal, healing circle, and so on).
- Ultroloth - Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): 1/day - geas/guest and mass suggestion.
Tainted Warrior | Hit Die: d10 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special |
1st | +1 | +2 | +0 | +0 | Fiend points, eyes of the fiend |
2nd | +2 | +3 | +0 | +0 | Fiendish power I, dream haunting |
3rd | +3 | +3 | +1 | +1 | Minor physical change |
4th | +4 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Fiendish power II |
5th | +5 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Hallucinations |
6th | +6 | +5 | +2 | +2 | Moderate physical change |
7th | +7 | +5 | +2 | +2 | Fiendish power III |
8th | +8 | +6 | +2 | +2 | Telepathy, craving |
9th | +9 | +6 | +3 | +3 | Major physical change |
10th | +10 | +7 | +3 | +3 | Fiendish power IV |
Tainted Spellcaster | Hit Die: d6 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spells per Day |
1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | fiend points, eyes of the fiend | +1 caster level |
2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Fiendish power I, dream haunting | - |
3rd | +2 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Minor physical change | +1 caster level |
4th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | fiendish power II | - |
5th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Hallucinations | +1 caster level |
6th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Moderate physical change | - |
7th | +5 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Fiendish power III | +1 caster level |
8th | +6 | +2 | +2 | +6 | telepathy, craving | - |
9th | +6 | +3 | +3 | +6 | Major physical change | +1 caster level |
10th | +7 | +3 | +3 | +7 | fiendish power IV | - |
Removing The Taint And Losing Fiend Points
There is no way to remove fiend points (except by the slow and unlikely process of constantly rolling a natural 20 on a fiend points check) or to change the character's alignment back to normal so long as the fiend remains within the tainted character, but there are ways to expel the fiend.
Level Drain or Loss: If a tainted has one of his levels permanently drained or loses a level due to being raised. He can choose to have it be the highest level of the tainted class he has attained regardless of what class level was most recently gained. By losing levels little by little, the fiend can be removed.
Wish or Miracle: One of these spells, if properly worded, can remove one level of the tainted class and replace it with a level of another class the character already has.
Divine Intervention: A DM may rule that a simple wish or miracle is not enough for clerics or paladins. The PC might have to plead at the feet of her deity for help in expelling the fiend, Assuredly, the god or goddess will ask the hero to perform some great quest in exchange.
For Your Character
If you like the idea of roleplaying one of the tortured tainted but think your character would never bargain with a fiend, suggest one of these options to your DM:
Magic Jar: The magic jar spell takes on a new, more horrifying angle when demons are involved. Perhaps a fiend can use the spell to cohabit a PC's body, hoping to corrupt the PC from within.
Contact with a Cursed or Evil Item or Artifact: A cursed or evil item could contain a fiend, and when your PC comes in contact with the device, the fiend might enter his soul.
Casting Too Many Evil or Vile Spells: Perhaps casting evil spells opens the door to possession by a fiend. In this case, your DM might find it feasible for you to gain a level of the tainted class after you've cast a few such spells.
Inheritance: the weight of a legacy can be overbearing at times, especially if one of your character's parents was tainted, The character might choose to embrace her fiendish heritage or fight against it.
Miscast Conjuration Spells: Calling and summoning magic is notoriously dangerous. especially when the spellcaster is calling a fiend. If a spellcaster encounters a mishap while casting a Conjuration spell, a fiend could sneak its way into his soul.
Even if you don't want to take levels in the tainted prestige class, you can use the fiend points system as a guide to govern alignment change. Using the fiend points system as a means of tracking how much of evil's taint has clung to your character offers a great guide to your role playing choices. When you first decide that your character is struggling with internal evil, assign a starting number of fiend points. As she progresses through play, make fiend points checks whenever you deem appropriate, and roleplay the results. In this variant, you should feel free to introduce ways that your character can loose fiend points as well as gain them.
For Your Campaign
Taking a level of the tainted prestige class should be a choice a player makes for her character, not a decision made by the DM. It's unfair and less fun when a DM forces a player's character to advance in a particular way, especially when such an advance could be disadvantageous. Most players will dislike being forced to take a level of the class, but there are ways to entice players to choose this unique roleplaying opportunity.
Fiendish Bargain: The character could choose to take a level of the tainted prestige class after making a bargain with a fiend. This bargain might entail some special ritual in which the fiend and character join bodies, it could require that the character sign a magic contract, or maybe the character must simply verbally agree. Many characters wouldn't dream of making such a bargain. but circumstances could change the PC's mind. Perhaps the fiend promises to help the party in a dangerous battle or save a doomed companion if a PC will accept the power it can provide.
Flawed Wish: Wishes can be twisted around in strange and unfortunate ways. A PC's wish for greater power or Strength could be granted in the form of a free level increase, Of course, the level is a level of the tainted prestige class. Now the character must decide whether to find a way to remove the stain on his soul or capitalize on his newfound power.
Constant Temptation: It might be fun to present the players with a constant source of temptation. Perhaps the PCs need a powerful sentient item, imbued with the spirits of fiends, to defeat a greater threat or destroy a more powerful artifact of evil. While they carry it, the item could implore its wielder to accept a power only it can provide, explaining how that power could help in many different situations.
Back from the Dead: A character being brought back from the dead might be met by a fiend on her soul's journey back to her body. The fiend can offer new power in the form of a level of the tainted class to replace the level that would be lost to death.
How Does A Character Become Tainted?
This article presents no game mechanic for how a character becomes tainted because level advancement should be a choice left in the hands of the player. The article also provides no means by which the fiend can be forcibly expelled from a character. Any such means could then be used against the PC, causing her to lose hard-won class abilities or even class levels. Playing a tainted character is thus a roleplaying choice, but the question remains: How does a character become tainted? How do you explain becoming tainted within the confines of the campaign world? Here are a few of the possible answers:
Shared Soul: The fiend spares part of its soul and consciousness for the PC. This gives the PC great power. but the fiend rides along with the character, learning what he learns and always present with a clever mental quip or temptation. This allows the fiend to act on the knowledge it gains from the PC, and it presents the disturbing possibility that the tainted PC might need to protect his source of power.
Possession: The fiend bodily leaps into the PC, merging its form and mind with the character. Like with a shared soul, the fiend knows what the character knows and can mentally tempt the character, but unlike when tainted share their souls, the fiend is trapped within the tainted's body to be released only when she dies or her alignment matches the fiend within.
Magic of the Pact: The magic of the pact is enough to seal the bargain, and the fiend and tainted can go their separate ways - although the fiend might return to check on its prodigy's progress. In this version of becoming tainted, the fiend gains no special knowledge of the PC and merely acts as a facilitator to the PCs aspirations for power.
Source: Dragon #302