Affects of Taint 

Taint is a bad thing. It warps body and spirit. Each taint point acts as a penalty to a characters Constitution and Wisdom scores. A character with Constitution 12 and Wisdom 14 and 3 points of taint would effectively have a Constitution of 9 and a Wisdom of 11 for all purposes such as calculating ability bonuses, HP etc. If your taint score ever equals or exceeds your Constitution score you are dead. If it ever equals or exceeds your Wisdom score, you fall into a coma and suffer all the effects of starvation and thirst until you are dead. Alternatively you might become completely and irrevocably mad or possessed by demons as your DM decides. In any case you need to create a new character.

Taint has other bad effects warping body and mind. It causes aches and pains and eventually physical and mental changes. A character who has taint points equal or greater than to 25% of his Constitution or Wisdom score is mildly tainted. A character who has taint scores equal to or greater than 50% of his Constitution or Wisdom score is moderately tainted. A character who has taint points equal to 75% or more of his Constitution or Wisdom scores is severely tainted. 

The DM should apply one of the following penalties as soon as a character acquires the appropriate level of taint. Physical penalties take affect when the Constitution score provides the taint effect. Mental penalties apply when it is Wisdom. You suffer penalties for both. Mostly these affects should be role-played since they are really only the manifestations of the Constitution or Wisdom loss. 

Mild Physical Taint Affects 

Occassional nausea or vomiting.

Pain in joints.

Hair goes white.

Phlegmy wracking cough.

Swollen eyelids.

Pale greyish dead complexion.

Sunken eyes, cracked lips.

Skin seeps greasy yellowish sweat.

Skin thickens, cracks and turns leather.

Mild Mental Taint Affects

Mild Paranoia.

Disorientation.

Increased Aggressiveness.

Mild Hallucinations.

Moderate Physical Taint Effects

Bones begin to warp and thicken.

Black lichen like growth on skin itches constantly.

Reddened burn like sores and scars.

Eyes cloud or blood vessels in them break, reddening them and obscuring vision.

Lips shrink back from gums.

Gums swell bleed or rot.

Hair falls out.

Bleeding from eyes, ears, nose or lips.

Uncontrollable seizures wrack body with spasms.

Eruption of painful sores.



Moderate Mental Taint Effects

Hears voices of evil spirits.

Severe Paranoia.

Fits of uncontrollable disturbing laughter.

Prone of fits of extreme rage.



Severe Physical Taint Effects

Flesh of nose rots away leaving skull like openings.

Mutated deformed fingers, toes, leg, arm, head, eye, ear or teeth begin to grow on inappropriate body part then shrivel, rot or eventually fall off.

Spine twists, back hunches.

Severe warping of skeleton. 

Skull enlarges and deforms.

Great swollen growths on body.

Lungs eaten away from inside-wet, laboured and painful breathing.

Eyes fall out, leaving great gaping socket that glows with an eerie light. (You can still see.)

Skin peels off in great sloughs at the slightest touch leaving raw red welts behind.

Fingers or toes begin to fuse.



Severe Mental Taint Effects

Irresistible murderous urges.

Fits of lunatic paranoia. 

Eats still living or inedible things.

Utter megalomania.

Example. Rab has Constitution of 12 and Wisdom of 14. This means that he will acquire a mild physical taint effect at 3 taint points, a moderate one at 6 taint points and a severe one at 9 taint points. He will also acquire a mild mental taint effect at 4 taint points, a moderate one at 7 taint points and a severe one at 11 taint points. He will be dead at 12 taint points because by then they will equal his Constitution.