THE TAINT & CREATURE RULES
THE TAINT
The Emerald Empire has always has a formidable enemy from its inception. The Shadowlands, once a realm populated by the vast Nezumi Empire, lies to the southwest of Rokugan. Fu Leng's fall from the heavens destroyed the ratlings' cities and allowed Jigoku to extend its reach to Ningen-do. The Shadowlands now is a physical manifestation of the evil realm. It is the single greatest threat to the safety of Rokugan. The Shadowlands affects everything, and comtaminates all pure objects within its reach. When a samurai walks into the Shadowlands, he threatens his very soul. Those exposed to the Shadowlands without the proper protection can contract the Shadowlands Taint, a physical manifestation of Jigoku's hold on the mortal realm.
All characters begin with a Taint Rank of 0, but this Rank increases as the charcter gains Shadowlands Points. Each Taint Rank is made of 10 Shadowlands Points, just like Honor and Glory. Prolonged exposure to the Shadowlands Taint causes a character to gain Shadowlands Points.
DANGERS OF THE TAINT
There are numerous ways in which a character can gain the Taint. For every day spent in the prescence of the Shadowlands - be it a powerful Tainted artifact carried by the character or the Shadowlands itself - a character must make a Raw Earth roll. The TN for the roll is 5. If the character succeeds, he succesfully resists the corruptive effects of the Shadowlands Points. If he fails, he gains one die of Shadowlands Points. For every additional day spent near the corrupting prescence, the TN to resist bacoming Tainted increases by 5. If the character has any open, unbound wound, the TN to resist the Taint is increased by 15 instead of 5 instead of 5 every day. This process continues until the character leaves the Shadowlands or no longer carries the artifact.
A character may contract the Taint by eating or Drinking Tainted food; though this occurs most often in the Shadowlands itself, tricky maho-tsukai have been known to Taint rivers and fields of rice to sow havoc among the Rokugani. Characters who are wounded bya Tainted blade must make a Raw Earth Roll with a TN of 20; those who fail gain a die of Shadowlands Points. Those who call upon the kami inside the Shadowlands often instead summon kansen, the evil counterparts of the kami, which love to Taint shugenja.
Samurai who die in the Shadowlands often rise as zombies, attacking indiscrimately. This can be prevented if the body is burned or decapitated. The corpses of highly tainted characters can become zombies even in normal areas.
LIVING WITH THE TAINT
When a person contracts the Shadowlands Taint, he is thereafter doomed to a life of struggle and hardship. The Taint within the samurai influences his decisions, urging him to actions unbecoming of a samurai, and eventually attempts to devour his soul. The Taint twists the body, mind, and soul of the infected, and there is no cure.
Simply bearing the Shadowlands Taint changes one's behavior for the worse, introducing tics and causing a character to act in a manner unbecoming of a samurai. A Tainted character rolls one fewer die for every Rank of Taint when he makes rolls that involve interacting with others.
A Tainted character finds it increasingly difficult to control his behavior as the Taint works on his psyche. A player can control his Tainted character until his character loses his mind to Jigoku completely, fighting all the way.
Even if precautions are taken and the character does his best to keep the corruption bottled inside of him, the Shadowlands Taint increases its hold over time. Once a person has become Tainted, the infection surely worsens until it overwhelms its host.
If the host posesses any Shadowlands Powers, his corruption grows even more swiftly. Minor Shadowlands Powers bestow one extra point of Taint, each, per interval. Major Shadowlands Powers bestow two extra points of Taint, each, per interval. Greater Shadowlands Powers bestow three extra points of Taint, each, per interval If the host attempts to live a life devoted to calming the corruption of his soul - undergoing acupuncture, meditation, and leading a monastic lifestyle - he may roll an extra die per check, and reduce thee additional Shadowlands Points given Shadowlands Powers by one per power. If the host deviates from this lifestyle in any way, or uses his Shadowlands Powers, he immediately loses these benefits.
Days in which the corrupted character drinks Tea of Jade Petals do not count as days for each interval. It is thus possible to freeze one's Taint Rank if one is diligent in taking the tea.
PROTECTION
The best way to be safe from the Shadowlands Taint is to never contract it in the first place. Jade's blessed nature keeps corruption away from its bearer, absorbing the Shadowlands Taint until they trun black and soft. A single piece of jade about the size of a man's finger is enough to protect a samuraifrom all corruptive effects for about a week. After the week has passed, the Earth rolls start up.
REMOVING THE TAINT
Other than some special cases, there are no cures for the Shadowlands Taint. Those who become Tainted must simply cease drawing upon the strength the Taint gives them and hope that Jogoku's hold on them grows no stronger. Drinking Tea of Jade Petals is the most popular method of keeping the Taint at bay, the tea is harvested from specifically grown lotus blossoms sprinkled with mystic jade powder in a ritual known only to the manks of the Jade Lotus. Secretly, the monks of the Jade Lotus give the names of those who purchase the tea to the Kuni, who keep a careful eye on the customers.
While a character is under the control is under the effects of the tea, his Taint effects go into remission. The Taint cannot be detected and spells which harm the Tainted have no special effect. Shadowlands powers may not be used while under the effects of the tea.
There are few reliable ways to remove the Shadowlands Taint. One of those ways is the application of Doji's Tears, nemuranai carried by the wife of the Doji daimyo. Use of Doji's Tears permanently removes the Shadowlands Taint from a samurai at the cost of his life. The ronin band called the Unbroken relies on a Technique that gradually removes the Taint from themselves by killing Shadowlands Creatures. The technique drastically shortens their lifespan and those who join the Unbroken may never leave.
BENEFITS OF THE TAINT
Not all those who have contracted the Taint are willing to drink the Tea of Jade Petals, and not all those who have contracted the Taint are willing to let go of the benefits the Dark God gives them. The power of Jigoku is strong indeedm and the Shadowlands Taint has compensatory advantages that are hard to resist. Any Tainted character may roll (but not keep) a number of extra dice equal to his Taint Rank on any Strength, Agility, Stamina, or Reflexes roll at the cost of adding another Shadowlands Point to his total. The character may use this additional boost consciously or subconsciously.
For Tainted characters who wish to mingle in Rokugani society with protection, a jade sliver corrupted by the Shadowlands Taint can protect its bearer against detection and pure magic. For every such item that is carried, the TN to detect the wearer's Taint is raised by 10. Effects that would normally detect the wearer's Taint automatically require the user to make a Raw Perception Roll vs. a TN of 15, plus 5 for every additional piece of corrupted jade carried.
After five days the corrupted jade crumbles to dust. Only one piece crumbles at a time when carried within 10' of another. A jade sliver essentially protects the character with its Taint, and thus brings more corruption upon its bearer. Any time a bearer of corrupted jade accumulates additional Taint, he gains one more point than normal. If he carrying more than three silvers, he gains two extra points each time.
TAINT SYMPTOMS
As a character deveolps the Taint, he begins to show mental and physical signs corruption. When a person is infected with the Shadowlands Taint, his appearance and behavior subtly change. His skin turns pale, his hair becomes greasy, and he looks ill. He bacomes short-tempered, quick to respond to percieved threats with violence. If unchecked, the symptoms grow worse over time and he loses more control over his actions. Finally, his Taint completely overwhelms him, turning him into a monster under Jigoku's control. The symptoms that curse a Tainted character are individualizedm but each follows a similar course of damnation.
All Tainted people are kept under close watch by Imperial authorities, butc are generally allowed to live until their taint makes them too dangerous to others. The Kuni keep an eye on all Tainted samurai, and are not hesitant to act when faced with the appropriate category. The categories are as follows. All penalties listed below are cumulative.
First Degree: Passive Infection
The subject has a mild level of Taint, showing no mental symptoms. There is little danger of spreading the Taint to others. The Kuni Witch Hunters do not punish these samurai, though they do check on them monthly to see if they have succumbed to higher degrees of the Taint. THe subject is not allowed to marry without informing the prospective spousive and family of his Shadowlands Taint. Any violation of these protocols is immediately considered a "dangerous mental symptom" - grounds for execution.
This degree generally encompasses any character who has a Taint Rank higher than his lowest Ring. (A character with a Taint Rank lower than all his rings often experiences only mild effects, or is totally asymtomatic. He himself may not realize he has been Tainted.) The Shadowlands Taint begins to manifest itself in nightmares. Next comes a general malaise; the character is prone to nausea, vomiting, and uncontrolling trembling. He might begin to mumble to himself without realizing it, even in inappropriate situations. These symptoms unbalance the character, keeping him from his rest and making it more likely that he will fail his Earth roll to keep the Taint in check.
The Taint begins to claim its host's body, but has not significantly changed him. Any character at this level immediately gains the Brash Disadvantage (if he did not already have it). The character also receives a +5 penalty to the TNs of all Honor tests.
Second Degree: Active Infection
The subject has a moderate level of Taint, may show some mental symptoms, and could possibly spread the Taint to others. When the Kuni find the subject, he is given the choice of seppuku or relocation to a barracks for the Damned, a unit of Tainted samurai who are thrown into combat against the Shadowlands at every opportunity. For the rest of the subject's life, he will be under the constant supervision of Kuni Witch Hunters.
This degree generally encompasses all characters who have a Taint Rank higher than two or three of their Rings. The Shadowlands Taint has begun to color everything the character feels, urging him to lash out at those closest to him. The character becomes paranoid, and is irritated by those around him. He feels he cannot trust anyone and thinks everyone else around him is secretly Tainted. He starts to see hallucinations and hears the voices of the kansen.
A character at this level must increase the TNs of all Willpower tests to resist dishonorable behavior by +10. The character receives another +5 penalty to all Honor Tests.
Third Degree: Deadly Infection
The subject has an extreme level of Taint, shows dangerous mental symptoms, and is in immetiate danger of spreading the Taint to others. The Kuni Watch Hunters immediately execute any subjects that fall into this category. Seppuku is not an option, as these subjects are too dangerous to be given a choice. Inquisitors consider any intetional concealment of Shadowlands Taint from other individuals a "dangerous mental symptom."
This degree generally encompasses all characters who have a Taint Rank higher than four of their Rings. The Shadowlands Taint begins to show itself in extreme ways, all unique to each person. Some might choose to discard hygeine and never bathe. Some characters might exhibit extreme homicidal behavior. Some cough blood, some become extremely gaunt, and some develop long black fingernails. Tainted characters in this degree are most unpredictable and extremely dangerous.
The host must make a Willpower test against a TN of 25 to resist becoming violent in stressful situations. The host finds it difficult to behaive like himself, being constantly buffeted by strong bestial instincts. The character receives another +5 penalty to all Honor Tests.
Fourth Degree: Embrace of the Dark
This category includes any subjects who are posessed by demons, those who use Taint for supernatural powers, those who practice maho, and those who worship the Dark God (even if the subject is not Tainted). The protocol is immediate death via decapitation.
This degree encompasses all those whose Taint Rank exceeds all of their Rings. For the most part, Shadowlands symptoms continue to have the same effect as before. There are generally two types of hosts in this stage of corruption: madmen and the Lost. The madmen have completely lost their minds to the Taint and have become bestial; they can no longer think on their own. The Lost, on the other hand, retain their intelligence and human-like behavior; however, they have become compleely devoured by the Taint and are slaves to Jigoku. There is no redemption for characters in this stage of corruption.
There are no modifiers for characters in this degree; for the most part these characters have become lost to the Shadowlands. At any time the character may be subject to a Willpower roll versus TN 40 to maintain control of himself. IF he fails, he loses control until the dark powers decide to give control back to the character.
CREATURE RULES
CARAPACE
Some creatures shrug off powerful blows, making them more dangerous than they would otherwise be. This could be due to a thick hide, or merely because physical wounds do not affect the creature. carapace can also apply to nonliving targets, such as stone walls, that have a natural resistance to damage.
Carapace is scaled from 1 to 10, representing the amount of damage a creature ignores. Whenever a creature is dealt damage, the number of dice rolled for damage is reduced by the creature's Carapace rating, to a minimum of 1 this reduction is calculated before the roll, so if an attack would cause more than ten dice of damage (which would normally be converted into dice kept), Carapace lowers the total dice rolled before the ten dice limit is imposed. If a creature's Carapace rating is 5 or more ranks higher than the number of damage dice normally rolled, it takes no damage from that attack.
Carapace can sometimes be circumvented. This may be due to a weakness in the protection represented by the Carapace, or in the case of many Shadowlands beasts, a vulnerability to a material that ignores the supernatural nature of the Carapace. A Carapace's vulnerability, if any is listed in parentheses after the Carapace rating. For example, a hard-shelled Oni that is vulnerable to jade would have "Carapace 3 (except Jade)." Sttacks that take advantage of the vulnerability - in this case, a weapon made of jade - drop no dice due to Carapace.
FEAR
Even in a land as fantastic as Rokugan, not everyone can be prepared for every bizzare encounter. Brave samurai test their will against things that threaten to dull their minds with dread. The Fear mechanic represents the effect of something that could cause a character to hesitate, or even paralyze him. Fear is usually rediated by creatures, though certain magical effects also create Fear.
Fear effects are scaled from 0 to 10. When a character encounters something that generates Fear, he may opt to run, though this is generally dishonorable. If the character chooses to confront the Fear's source in some way, he must make a Willpower roll at a TN equal to five times the Fear rating. Each die gains a bonus equal to the character's Honor Rank. If the character fails the TN by 15 or more, he flees as quickly as possible from the source of the Fear. If the character fails the roll by less than this, he may choose to confront the situation, but all dice he rolls rolls for Skill rolls are lowered by the Fear rating and he cannot spend Void. This penalty stays in effect until the source of the Fear is removed or fled from.
When faced with multiple Fear effects at once, the character must roll against the highest-ranking one. If the character succeeds in his Fear roll, he need not ever roll against that source of Fear again unless the Fear ranking increases.
INVULNERABILITY
Like Carapace, Invulnerability denotes resistance to damage, but to a far greater degree. Creatures with Invulnerability take no damage from mundane sources, though they are still subject to any other effect of being struck - an Invulnerable troll would take no damage from an attack that would knock it down, but he would still fall over. Invulnerability is by default vulnerable to any sort of supernatural source of damage, such as blessed weapons, magical effects, and the like. Like Carapace, Invulnerability notes any effect that bypasses it in parenthesis next to it, but it may also denote Invulnerability to any sort of effect that might normally ignore Invulnerability (such as mutant goblin that is Invulnerable normally as well as Invulnerable to all fire, magical or otherwise).
THE TAINT
The Emerald Empire has always has a formidable enemy from its inception. The Shadowlands, once a realm populated by the vast Nezumi Empire, lies to the southwest of Rokugan. Fu Leng's fall from the heavens destroyed the ratlings' cities and allowed Jigoku to extend its reach to Ningen-do. The Shadowlands now is a physical manifestation of the evil realm. It is the single greatest threat to the safety of Rokugan. The Shadowlands affects everything, and comtaminates all pure objects within its reach. When a samurai walks into the Shadowlands, he threatens his very soul. Those exposed to the Shadowlands without the proper protection can contract the Shadowlands Taint, a physical manifestation of Jigoku's hold on the mortal realm.
All characters begin with a Taint Rank of 0, but this Rank increases as the charcter gains Shadowlands Points. Each Taint Rank is made of 10 Shadowlands Points, just like Honor and Glory. Prolonged exposure to the Shadowlands Taint causes a character to gain Shadowlands Points.
DANGERS OF THE TAINT
There are numerous ways in which a character can gain the Taint. For every day spent in the prescence of the Shadowlands - be it a powerful Tainted artifact carried by the character or the Shadowlands itself - a character must make a Raw Earth roll. The TN for the roll is 5. If the character succeeds, he succesfully resists the corruptive effects of the Shadowlands Points. If he fails, he gains one die of Shadowlands Points. For every additional day spent near the corrupting prescence, the TN to resist bacoming Tainted increases by 5. If the character has any open, unbound wound, the TN to resist the Taint is increased by 15 instead of 5 instead of 5 every day. This process continues until the character leaves the Shadowlands or no longer carries the artifact.
A character may contract the Taint by eating or Drinking Tainted food; though this occurs most often in the Shadowlands itself, tricky maho-tsukai have been known to Taint rivers and fields of rice to sow havoc among the Rokugani. Characters who are wounded bya Tainted blade must make a Raw Earth Roll with a TN of 20; those who fail gain a die of Shadowlands Points. Those who call upon the kami inside the Shadowlands often instead summon kansen, the evil counterparts of the kami, which love to Taint shugenja.
Samurai who die in the Shadowlands often rise as zombies, attacking indiscrimately. This can be prevented if the body is burned or decapitated. The corpses of highly tainted characters can become zombies even in normal areas.
LIVING WITH THE TAINT
When a person contracts the Shadowlands Taint, he is thereafter doomed to a life of struggle and hardship. The Taint within the samurai influences his decisions, urging him to actions unbecoming of a samurai, and eventually attempts to devour his soul. The Taint twists the body, mind, and soul of the infected, and there is no cure.
Simply bearing the Shadowlands Taint changes one's behavior for the worse, introducing tics and causing a character to act in a manner unbecoming of a samurai. A Tainted character rolls one fewer die for every Rank of Taint when he makes rolls that involve interacting with others.
A Tainted character finds it increasingly difficult to control his behavior as the Taint works on his psyche. A player can control his Tainted character until his character loses his mind to Jigoku completely, fighting all the way.
Even if precautions are taken and the character does his best to keep the corruption bottled inside of him, the Shadowlands Taint increases its hold over time. Once a person has become Tainted, the infection surely worsens until it overwhelms its host.
If the host posesses any Shadowlands Powers, his corruption grows even more swiftly. Minor Shadowlands Powers bestow one extra point of Taint, each, per interval. Major Shadowlands Powers bestow two extra points of Taint, each, per interval. Greater Shadowlands Powers bestow three extra points of Taint, each, per interval If the host attempts to live a life devoted to calming the corruption of his soul - undergoing acupuncture, meditation, and leading a monastic lifestyle - he may roll an extra die per check, and reduce thee additional Shadowlands Points given Shadowlands Powers by one per power. If the host deviates from this lifestyle in any way, or uses his Shadowlands Powers, he immediately loses these benefits.
Days in which the corrupted character drinks Tea of Jade Petals do not count as days for each interval. It is thus possible to freeze one's Taint Rank if one is diligent in taking the tea.
PROTECTION
The best way to be safe from the Shadowlands Taint is to never contract it in the first place. Jade's blessed nature keeps corruption away from its bearer, absorbing the Shadowlands Taint until they trun black and soft. A single piece of jade about the size of a man's finger is enough to protect a samuraifrom all corruptive effects for about a week. After the week has passed, the Earth rolls start up.
REMOVING THE TAINT
Other than some special cases, there are no cures for the Shadowlands Taint. Those who become Tainted must simply cease drawing upon the strength the Taint gives them and hope that Jogoku's hold on them grows no stronger. Drinking Tea of Jade Petals is the most popular method of keeping the Taint at bay, the tea is harvested from specifically grown lotus blossoms sprinkled with mystic jade powder in a ritual known only to the manks of the Jade Lotus. Secretly, the monks of the Jade Lotus give the names of those who purchase the tea to the Kuni, who keep a careful eye on the customers.
While a character is under the control is under the effects of the tea, his Taint effects go into remission. The Taint cannot be detected and spells which harm the Tainted have no special effect. Shadowlands powers may not be used while under the effects of the tea.
There are few reliable ways to remove the Shadowlands Taint. One of those ways is the application of Doji's Tears, nemuranai carried by the wife of the Doji daimyo. Use of Doji's Tears permanently removes the Shadowlands Taint from a samurai at the cost of his life. The ronin band called the Unbroken relies on a Technique that gradually removes the Taint from themselves by killing Shadowlands Creatures. The technique drastically shortens their lifespan and those who join the Unbroken may never leave.
BENEFITS OF THE TAINT
Not all those who have contracted the Taint are willing to drink the Tea of Jade Petals, and not all those who have contracted the Taint are willing to let go of the benefits the Dark God gives them. The power of Jigoku is strong indeedm and the Shadowlands Taint has compensatory advantages that are hard to resist. Any Tainted character may roll (but not keep) a number of extra dice equal to his Taint Rank on any Strength, Agility, Stamina, or Reflexes roll at the cost of adding another Shadowlands Point to his total. The character may use this additional boost consciously or subconsciously.
For Tainted characters who wish to mingle in Rokugani society with protection, a jade sliver corrupted by the Shadowlands Taint can protect its bearer against detection and pure magic. For every such item that is carried, the TN to detect the wearer's Taint is raised by 10. Effects that would normally detect the wearer's Taint automatically require the user to make a Raw Perception Roll vs. a TN of 15, plus 5 for every additional piece of corrupted jade carried.
After five days the corrupted jade crumbles to dust. Only one piece crumbles at a time when carried within 10' of another. A jade sliver essentially protects the character with its Taint, and thus brings more corruption upon its bearer. Any time a bearer of corrupted jade accumulates additional Taint, he gains one more point than normal. If he carrying more than three silvers, he gains two extra points each time.
TAINT SYMPTOMS
As a character deveolps the Taint, he begins to show mental and physical signs corruption. When a person is infected with the Shadowlands Taint, his appearance and behavior subtly change. His skin turns pale, his hair becomes greasy, and he looks ill. He bacomes short-tempered, quick to respond to percieved threats with violence. If unchecked, the symptoms grow worse over time and he loses more control over his actions. Finally, his Taint completely overwhelms him, turning him into a monster under Jigoku's control. The symptoms that curse a Tainted character are individualizedm but each follows a similar course of damnation.
All Tainted people are kept under close watch by Imperial authorities, butc are generally allowed to live until their taint makes them too dangerous to others. The Kuni keep an eye on all Tainted samurai, and are not hesitant to act when faced with the appropriate category. The categories are as follows. All penalties listed below are cumulative.
First Degree: Passive Infection
The subject has a mild level of Taint, showing no mental symptoms. There is little danger of spreading the Taint to others. The Kuni Witch Hunters do not punish these samurai, though they do check on them monthly to see if they have succumbed to higher degrees of the Taint. THe subject is not allowed to marry without informing the prospective spousive and family of his Shadowlands Taint. Any violation of these protocols is immediately considered a "dangerous mental symptom" - grounds for execution.
This degree generally encompasses any character who has a Taint Rank higher than his lowest Ring. (A character with a Taint Rank lower than all his rings often experiences only mild effects, or is totally asymtomatic. He himself may not realize he has been Tainted.) The Shadowlands Taint begins to manifest itself in nightmares. Next comes a general malaise; the character is prone to nausea, vomiting, and uncontrolling trembling. He might begin to mumble to himself without realizing it, even in inappropriate situations. These symptoms unbalance the character, keeping him from his rest and making it more likely that he will fail his Earth roll to keep the Taint in check.
The Taint begins to claim its host's body, but has not significantly changed him. Any character at this level immediately gains the Brash Disadvantage (if he did not already have it). The character also receives a +5 penalty to the TNs of all Honor tests.
Second Degree: Active Infection
The subject has a moderate level of Taint, may show some mental symptoms, and could possibly spread the Taint to others. When the Kuni find the subject, he is given the choice of seppuku or relocation to a barracks for the Damned, a unit of Tainted samurai who are thrown into combat against the Shadowlands at every opportunity. For the rest of the subject's life, he will be under the constant supervision of Kuni Witch Hunters.
This degree generally encompasses all characters who have a Taint Rank higher than two or three of their Rings. The Shadowlands Taint has begun to color everything the character feels, urging him to lash out at those closest to him. The character becomes paranoid, and is irritated by those around him. He feels he cannot trust anyone and thinks everyone else around him is secretly Tainted. He starts to see hallucinations and hears the voices of the kansen.
A character at this level must increase the TNs of all Willpower tests to resist dishonorable behavior by +10. The character receives another +5 penalty to all Honor Tests.
Third Degree: Deadly Infection
The subject has an extreme level of Taint, shows dangerous mental symptoms, and is in immetiate danger of spreading the Taint to others. The Kuni Watch Hunters immediately execute any subjects that fall into this category. Seppuku is not an option, as these subjects are too dangerous to be given a choice. Inquisitors consider any intetional concealment of Shadowlands Taint from other individuals a "dangerous mental symptom."
This degree generally encompasses all characters who have a Taint Rank higher than four of their Rings. The Shadowlands Taint begins to show itself in extreme ways, all unique to each person. Some might choose to discard hygeine and never bathe. Some characters might exhibit extreme homicidal behavior. Some cough blood, some become extremely gaunt, and some develop long black fingernails. Tainted characters in this degree are most unpredictable and extremely dangerous.
The host must make a Willpower test against a TN of 25 to resist becoming violent in stressful situations. The host finds it difficult to behaive like himself, being constantly buffeted by strong bestial instincts. The character receives another +5 penalty to all Honor Tests.
Fourth Degree: Embrace of the Dark
This category includes any subjects who are posessed by demons, those who use Taint for supernatural powers, those who practice maho, and those who worship the Dark God (even if the subject is not Tainted). The protocol is immediate death via decapitation.
This degree encompasses all those whose Taint Rank exceeds all of their Rings. For the most part, Shadowlands symptoms continue to have the same effect as before. There are generally two types of hosts in this stage of corruption: madmen and the Lost. The madmen have completely lost their minds to the Taint and have become bestial; they can no longer think on their own. The Lost, on the other hand, retain their intelligence and human-like behavior; however, they have become compleely devoured by the Taint and are slaves to Jigoku. There is no redemption for characters in this stage of corruption.
There are no modifiers for characters in this degree; for the most part these characters have become lost to the Shadowlands. At any time the character may be subject to a Willpower roll versus TN 40 to maintain control of himself. IF he fails, he loses control until the dark powers decide to give control back to the character.
CREATURE RULES
CARAPACE
Some creatures shrug off powerful blows, making them more dangerous than they would otherwise be. This could be due to a thick hide, or merely because physical wounds do not affect the creature. carapace can also apply to nonliving targets, such as stone walls, that have a natural resistance to damage.
Carapace is scaled from 1 to 10, representing the amount of damage a creature ignores. Whenever a creature is dealt damage, the number of dice rolled for damage is reduced by the creature's Carapace rating, to a minimum of 1 this reduction is calculated before the roll, so if an attack would cause more than ten dice of damage (which would normally be converted into dice kept), Carapace lowers the total dice rolled before the ten dice limit is imposed. If a creature's Carapace rating is 5 or more ranks higher than the number of damage dice normally rolled, it takes no damage from that attack.
Carapace can sometimes be circumvented. This may be due to a weakness in the protection represented by the Carapace, or in the case of many Shadowlands beasts, a vulnerability to a material that ignores the supernatural nature of the Carapace. A Carapace's vulnerability, if any is listed in parentheses after the Carapace rating. For example, a hard-shelled Oni that is vulnerable to jade would have "Carapace 3 (except Jade)." Sttacks that take advantage of the vulnerability - in this case, a weapon made of jade - drop no dice due to Carapace.
FEAR
Even in a land as fantastic as Rokugan, not everyone can be prepared for every bizzare encounter. Brave samurai test their will against things that threaten to dull their minds with dread. The Fear mechanic represents the effect of something that could cause a character to hesitate, or even paralyze him. Fear is usually rediated by creatures, though certain magical effects also create Fear.
Fear effects are scaled from 0 to 10. When a character encounters something that generates Fear, he may opt to run, though this is generally dishonorable. If the character chooses to confront the Fear's source in some way, he must make a Willpower roll at a TN equal to five times the Fear rating. Each die gains a bonus equal to the character's Honor Rank. If the character fails the TN by 15 or more, he flees as quickly as possible from the source of the Fear. If the character fails the roll by less than this, he may choose to confront the situation, but all dice he rolls rolls for Skill rolls are lowered by the Fear rating and he cannot spend Void. This penalty stays in effect until the source of the Fear is removed or fled from.
When faced with multiple Fear effects at once, the character must roll against the highest-ranking one. If the character succeeds in his Fear roll, he need not ever roll against that source of Fear again unless the Fear ranking increases.
INVULNERABILITY
Like Carapace, Invulnerability denotes resistance to damage, but to a far greater degree. Creatures with Invulnerability take no damage from mundane sources, though they are still subject to any other effect of being struck - an Invulnerable troll would take no damage from an attack that would knock it down, but he would still fall over. Invulnerability is by default vulnerable to any sort of supernatural source of damage, such as blessed weapons, magical effects, and the like. Like Carapace, Invulnerability notes any effect that bypasses it in parenthesis next to it, but it may also denote Invulnerability to any sort of effect that might normally ignore Invulnerability (such as mutant goblin that is Invulnerable normally as well as Invulnerable to all fire, magical or otherwise).
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 4:20 AM May 23
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