Overview
Magical energy, bequeathed by the sun, can be used to write glyphs and cast spells to a variety of ends. The comet's tainted energy gives no such benefits; instead, it corrupts what it touches, twisting the individual into something out of everyone's worst nightmares. It can warp body, mind, or both depending upon the level of taint a creature carries.
Those changed physically may be hideously ugly, strangely beautiful, or anything in between. The change may be minor, or it may be profound, depending upon the degree of taint. At low levels, it may be a detriment, but never a fatal one.
Those whose taint manifests in their psyche lean towards everything society considers negative. They are selfish, possessive, ambitious, quick-tempered, violent in their expression of strong emotions. They may retain loyalty to friends and family, especially at lower levels, but spend little thought on the welfare of anyone else.
At higher levels of taint, the physical and mental tracks begin to blur together. When the comet's power has finally sunk its claws into every aspect of a creature's being, that creature is unmatched at Darwinian survival; they are the embodiment of 'nature, red in tooth and claw'. Even if they still eat plants - or if they are plants — they have a predator's mentality, a willingness to shed the blood of anything they decide not to share air with — and the physical capacity to dispatch those other living things.
It is this mentality, this violence, that society so abhors; that, and the fact that the strongly tainted live by no rules but those they make, if any at all. The tainted are chaos incarnate, anathema to civilization. Everyone remembers the stories of the Fringe villages which literally tore themselves apart, the earth stained forever scarlet by human blood. Everyone remembers the tales of tainted beasts that slaughter all living things they happen across. Some of these are exaggerated, but many more are not; it is this fear that leads to the killing of all discovered tainted, no matter how minor their contamination.
What is not known is that the tainting power has extended even beyond the recognized Fringe; it is simply still so low that its presence remains unnoticed. The warped things that surge out of the Fringe and the Broken Lands beyond are obvious and impossible to miss; the subtle, creeping changes in the city's immediate surroundings pale by comparison, passed by in the daily struggle to survive.
See this page for an explanation of how taint and magery interact and are passed on.
Warning
Be aware that playing a tainted character, especially of a high level and/or obvious taint, is ASKING for that character to be outed and killed. While playing cat-and-mouse with society's fears makes for good RP, don't do it unless you're prepared to risk the character's death.
Details
The following level definitions are not IC terms; they are provided for OOC reference, as an easy and quick method of determining what is within a character's capability and how powerful they are relative to others.
Level 0
- latent: This degree of taint is latent, nothing more than background noise. Virtually anyone born within the Fringe or points north of it possesses at least this degree of taint. It has no effects, physical or mental, but accumulates over generations until one obviously tainted is born into a bloodline thought clean.
Level 1
- latent: As for level 0, a level 1 taint may remain latent, with similar (lack of) effects.
OR
- physical track: A level 1 physical taint is limited, often cosmetic in its manifestation. It can affect no more than 1/4 of the individual's body mass. It is generally visible - a patch of fur, some altered structure - but may be internal. It cannot manifest in a feature from a clearly unrelated species (e.g. feathers or scales on a human). Tainted of this level are often able to survive within society as long as they can keep the taint hidden.
Level 2
- physical track: At level 2, a physical taint encompasses more than half of the person's body, and/or is derived from a clearly different genetic lineage (e.g. feathers). It may confer some slight advantage in strength, speed, and/or reflexes. Most taints of this level are not obviously detrimental, but either indifferent or advantageous when it comes to survival. However, these tainted are not able to easily hide in society, which means their demise is often sudden and violent.
OR
- mental track: A level 2 mental taint gives no outward indications of its existence; it does not manifest in the body, but in the personality. People tainted in this way are selfish, ambitious, quick-tempered; they hate being constrained either physically or in idea, thus tend to have little reverence for laws; though they may (or may not) be loyal to friends and family, they care less than nothing for anyone else. They embody everything society considers negative, taken just that little bit further, that step across the bounds of normal human potential. These tainted individuals may survive within society, as long as they have the willpower to keep their impulses reasonably well in check.
Level 3
- At this level of taint, the division between physical and mental begins to blur. There is still a bias towards one or the other, but those with physical taints are more aggressive and feral in nature; those with mental taints also have some sort of physical manifestation.
- Additionally, level 3 tainted become able to detect others of their kind, within a radius of 20 feet and provided the other is level 2 or greater. They are able to sense level 3+ mages in the same manner. They cannot precisely ID the individual, but are only aware of their presence (so if the other is in a crowd, they may not realize who it is).
- All Hunters are level 3 tainted with a primarily mental manifestation. They have an extremely violent predator's mentality reined in by a profoundly disciplined will and strict code of conduct. Visible, physical manifestations are few to none, but generally they also have heightened reflexes, strength, and/or stamina. See the page on Hunters for more information.
Level 4
- If it's worse than level 3, it's a level 4. There are no higher levels. Lower tainted are bad enough, but these are truly terrible news, with vicious, bloodthirsty mentalities to match their predator's physiology. Some level 4 tainted creatures remain herbivores, but the fact remains that if they decide they don't like sharing air with you, you're going to be dead meat in short order. Hunters, high-level mages, and a sufficient number of guards can at least hold their own against a level 4, but it's anyone's guess who comes out alive on the other side - if anyone does.
