EDSG Episode 154 - Ristul and Taint

* Our Horrors series continues with Named Horrors. * Ristul * Narrator Cymric and the novel Prophecy. * More esoteric: no body, mind, or specific entity -- corruption itself. * Most Lovecraftian, cosmic horror styled Horror. * Implacable – nothing concrete to defeat. Might exist as long as magic and corruption exists. * Subsumes minds and personalities of those it infects. * Event Horizon * “What Ristul corrupts, Ristul absorbs.” * Manifestations of Ristul: Nightwists and Ristular * Very few game statistics in Horrors book: Spellcasting, Mystic Armor, some Horror powers. * You don’t defeat Ristul, you survive or escape it. * Stories involving Ristul: Disrupting Horror cults and their machinations. * Kaer Otosk, Aras Nehem, and the Mad Passions. * Other inspirations: The Ring, The Wicker Man, Midsommar * Tone for Ristul-related stories likely to be more traditional horror-genre rather than dark fantasy adventure. * Taint * Pictured on the cover of the original Horrors book. * Essay by Vasdenjas. * Taints and corrupts the magic used by adepts. * Gradual, subtle, and by the time you realize you’ve been affected it’s too late. * Purely astral Horror, very good at manipulating and hiding in corrupted space. * Loves magicians – their use of magic gives Taint more opportunities to get its hooks in its prey. * Must make multiple tests to successfully mark the target, but once marked it can manipulate the target’s use of magic. * As an astral Horror, very difficult to deal with. * Very patient – once spent 20 years working its way into a kaer. * Manipulate Magic: Taint’s unique ability. * If you are marked, it can turn your magical ability against you or your allies, making it even harder to fight. * Feeds on the helplessness and self-doubt that comes about from knowing you can’t trust your abilities. * Well suited as a long-term adversary for player characters. * Caution and advice for gamemasters using Taint. * More personal and direct a foe than Ristul. * Sidebar about Josh’s thoughts on Blades related to players being cursed/affected by a Horror. * Its astral nature and magic manipulation abilities make it tougher than its numbers might indicate. * Suggestion as a foe for more experienced characters who might have seen it all. * Ristul and Taint are good examples of Horrors as more than physically powerful monsters. Find and Follow: Email: [email protected] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeoifzUuBjez9V6wnvzom3g Twitter: @EDSGPodcast Josh on Twitter: @LoreMerchant Dan on Twitter: @boice_voice Get product information, developer blogs, and more at www.fasagames.com FASA Games on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fasagamesinc FASA Games Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/uuVwS9u Earthdawn Guild Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/earthdawnguild Earthdawn West Marches: https://discord.gg/hhHDtXW