The world of Shadow Accord is one of encroaching darkness and deep shadow. Each of the many factions that stalk the night have their own enemies that seek to tear down and corrupt what little light remains, from Oblivion-bound Spectres to Wyrm-worshipping Black Spiral Dancers. While these fell beings each have their own philosophies and methods, they have one thing in common: Taint.
By default, your character starts the game not Tainted. Various effects and powers that can Taint you most commonly includes the word “Tainted” in their sig call. Once you’ve become Tainted, you stay that way until somebody fixes you.
Being Tainted means that your character will be affected by some powers differently and might mean you can access powers that require Taint to activate. Taint also affects your character’s attitude and outlook in a negative or destructive way.
For many players, having their character get Tainted allows them to let out a much darker side of that character’s psyche than would otherwise be revealed. All characters act differently while Tainted than they do normally. How that manifests in your character is entirely up to you. Taint always makes a character more corrupt and destructive, but it does not necessarily turn them completely wicked.
One strategy for this is to figure out ahead of time how your character acts differently when Tainted. This may manifest as a character trait being magnified in an unhealthy manner: a character that is normally very confident may become blustery and boastful, while a shy character may become completely terrified of other people. Another way it could manifest is through inversion: perhaps a courageous character turns completely craven, or an altruistic character begins to care only for themselves.
Another way to handle Taint is to alter how it manifests based on the source. This method works especially well for players who have a lot of experience with the game world’s lore or who like to think on their feet. With this method, a character who becomes Tainted at the hand of a demon-worshipping vampire could become bloodthirsty and savage, or one Tainted by a blighted landscape might become listless and hopeless in the face of such destruction.
Keep in mind there’s no wrong way to roleplay Taint. The malevolent forces of the world are beyond numbering, so the way that your character reacts to being Tainted doesn’t necessarily have to fit any particular framework.
While your character is tainted, a few powers will work differently. If you are not Tainted, most of these powers have no effect on you at all. Here is a brief list:
While being Tainted makes you more vulnerable in some ways, it also provides a dark power. Any character can spend Willpower to resist Mental attacks, but a Tainted character can also spend Virtue to resist Mental attacks. Virtue spent this way is lost permanently in-game, although it can be bought back later by spending experience points at check-in.
The final change that Taint can have is that it may allow access to certain powers. Each faction has a set of Corrupt powers that it can learn. Corrupt powers cost less experience but can only be used while the character is Tainted. You will know when one of your powers is Corrupt; it is very unlikely that your first character will start the game with any such powers, but it’s entirely possible that an unscrupulous character will offer to teach them.