Instead of alignment, we will be using a corruption mechanic, called shadow. While the hardback campaign uses a different corruption mechanic, this comes from Adventures in Middle Earth.
The world is under attack by the forces of darkness. The presence of this darkness weighs upon the hearts of men.
Adventurers accumulate Shadow points to represent the growing burden of grief, doubt, weariness and self-interest that comes to rest on the hearts and minds of those who oppose the Shadow.
Heroes mainly risk gaining Shadow points in four ways:
Experiencing distressing events
Crossing or dwelling in a place tainted by evil.
Committing despicable or dishonourable deeds, regardless of the end they sought to achieve
Taking possession of a cursed or tainted item or treasure
When a PC witnesses a distressing event or directly experiences a disturbing situation, they must make a Wisdom saving throw against Corruption, which is typically at Difficulty Class 15.
Blighted Places
When a PC enters or lingers in an area that has been infused with malice by the darkness and has become Blighted, they must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. If the saving throw is failed, the PC gains 1 point of Shadow.
Misdeeds
In a time when the Darkness is growing ever stronger, those who fight it must master and overcome the darker impulses within themselves.
If the DM determines that a Misdeed has been committed, the guilty character automatically gains a number of Shadow points (see table below). PCs do not make a Wisdom saving throw when committing a Misdeed, as they are not being tempted by the Shadow: they are willingly embracing its ways.
Tainted Treasure
It may not tarnish like silver or rust like iron, but gold can corrupt faster than both, as it is often sought after with a fierce desire. The treasure found within the lair of some dead monster or buried in a long-sealed tomb may be tainted, its sheen able to drive men to distraction and fill their hearts with greed.
PCs must pass a Wisdom saving throw against Corruption upon finding tainted treasure, or suffer Shadow points.
Last edited by drpete on Sat Mar 16, 2019 6:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
When a PC’s Shadow point total exceeds their Wisdom score, they have been made Miserable, as their spirit is weakened by too much grief, sorrow and dark experiences.
Miserable
A Miserable creature has disadvantage on attack rolls.
The creature automatically fails Charisma ability checks
Bouts of Madness
When a PC who is Miserable rolls equal or less than difference between their Shadow point total and their Wisdom while making an ability check, attack roll or saving throw, they experience a bout of madness.
When this happens, the player relinquishes control of their character to the DM for a short period of time. The DM plays out the crisis, making the character do something they will later regret.
When a bout of madness finally passes, the character regains control and sees their mind finally cleared of the tangle of fear and doubt he fell into before facing the crisis. In gaming terms, a player who suffered a bout of madness cancels all the Shadow points they have accumulated since their last bout of madness, and replaces them with a single ‘permanent’ Shadow point.
Last edited by drpete on Sat Mar 16, 2019 6:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
In addition to ‘resetting’ their Shadow points, every time a PC suffers a bout of madness they develop a new Shadow Weakness Flaw.
A flawed adventurer has not lost the possibility of being a hero. Many of the characters display the influence of the Shadow to some extent.
The first entry serves as a ‘warning’ of sorts for a player: their character is beginning to slip into Shadow. A player can actually choose to use this to their advantage, by properly roleplaying their new Shadow Weakness Flaw, they can gain inspiration, just as they do when portraying their hero's characteristics derived from their background.
Reaching the second entry means a character has continued on their ever-darkening path. In addition to their new Flaw, any skill or feature that their Shadow Weakness Flaws would impair automatically loses advantage. For example, the Rohirrim love their horses as kin and may have advantage on Animal Handling checks. A Rohirrim with the Curse of Vengeance who becomes Brutal no longer treats horses as kindly as he once did and loses his advantage on Animal Handling checks.
The third tier is a precarious one and reaching it signals that a character is likely destined for retirement, tragedy or villainy. In addition to their third Shadow Weakness Flaw, PCs that have fallen to this point suffer disadvantage on all social ability checks, unless their Flaw would directly suggest otherwise. For example, a Deceitful hero does not suffer disadvantage on Charisma (Deception) ability checks, a Cruel hero has no problem making Charisma (Intimidation) checks and so on.
The fourth and final tier places a PC on the cusp of becoming an NPC. In addition to their final Shadow Weakness Flaw, all Charisma checks suffer disadvantage, as do Wisdom (Insight) ability checks. Worse by far, whenever presented with a situation where their fourth Shadow Weakness Flaw is relevant, the PC must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw to remain in control of themselves. Failure means they act as their fourth tier Shadow Weakness Flaw indicates. At this point, their friends may very well insist that they leave the company, and the PC is forced into retirement.
Failure Aggravation
When a PC fails at an ability check, a Shadow Weakness Flaw may dramatically worsen its already negative outcome.
If the consequences of a failed roll may be affected by a Shadow Weakness Flaw possessed by a PC, the DM can severely aggravate the outcome of the action, turning it into a truly catastrophic effort.
For example, a Brutal hero attempts to impress a crowd using Charisma (Intimidation). The player fails the roll, and the DM determines that the adventurer actually drew his sword and harmed someone in his overzealous attempt to intimidate.
