Corruption

In Tolkien’s legendarium, mortal peril is only one challenge facing good Men, Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits.  A greater concern is mental and spiritual corruption which turns even the very wise away from their true purpose at best or into servants of the Enemy, unwitting or otherwise.  Indeed, a true heart seems necessary for success and even survival in Middle-earth.  Consider the fates of Boromir, Denethor, Gollum, and Saruman.  In the end, Boromir and perhaps Gollum achieve some measure of redemption, but they each pay for their crimes with their lives.  This is also seen with Thorin who allows his greed and hubris put many lives at risk. 

A d20 game set in this universe needs to touch on this subject, though not necessarily with a game mechanic.  For myself, I like to see game mechanics that reflect on and are to an extent married with the setting.  The Taint rules found in Unearthed Arcana and Heroes of Horror could work, but I don’t particularly care for the use of a saving throw mechanic for this.  I don’t like the idea that there is always a 5% chance of failure (1 on a d20), and conversely, I’m not excited with the idea that a high level character is significantly less likely to become corrupt than a lower-level character.  Frodo, for example, seems much more resistant to corruption than the (vastly) higher-level characters Saruman, Galadriel and Gandalf.

Powerful characters (and Istari in particular) seem to have to check their power frequently to avoid becoming too much like the Enemy themselves.  Even a momentary lapse can have disastrous consequences and frequent exposure to power, danger and evil chips away at a character’s psyche until he or she becomes hopelessly disheartened or irredeemably evil.  Sauron himself began with good intentions. Ultimately, a variation of the Call of Cthulhu sanity mechanic seemed the most appropriate to me. 

Resolve and Corruption

In this system each character will have a Resolve score equal to either their starting Wisdom or Charisma score multiplied by 5 to a maximum of 99.  Under certain circumstances, the character will be required to make a corruption check; a d% roll against his or her Resolve.  A success is any roll equal to or less than the character’s current Resolve and reduces the chance of the character becoming corrupt. 

Inevitably, characters will face corruption that their Resolve can not simply shrug off.  Worse, a significant loss of resolve in a short period of time can cause a character to take actions which he might have previously thought unthinkable.

Burden

When a hero comes into possession of magical items or takes on great responsibilities, he places a burden on himself which limits his resolve.  Burden has a numerical value associated with it and 99 minus the total value of all the character’s Burden becomes that character’s maximum Resolve.  Burden has no effect on the character’s current Resolve unless he was at the maximum score at the time he takes on the Burden, in which case his current Resolve is reduced to the new maximum.

Each magic item increases the character’s burden as shown below:

GP value of the item (Burden)

Up to 1,000 gp (1)

1,001 gp to 5,000 gp (2)

5,001 gp to 10,000 gp (4)

10,001 gp to 20,000 gp (6)

20,001 gp to 50,000 gp (8)

50,001 gp to 100,000 gp (10)

100,001 gp to 200,000 gp (15)

200,001 gp and higher (20)

Burden from responsibilities is somewhat subjective but even low-level heroes should receive some amount of Burden.  If the heroes fail to stop the orcs from wandering out of Southern Mirkwood and attacking travelers, then lives will be lost.  Knowing that places a weight on a hero’s mind, thus increasing his Burden.

Giving up a magic item (or using a single-use item) will ease the Burden and the Character’s maximum Resolve will increase (current Resolve is unaffected).  However, giving up an item requires a resolve check (using a consumable or single-use item does not).

Loss of Resolve

Characters lose Resolve in a few types of situations: when faced with difficult choices or trying times, when tempted with power, when performing evil or treacherous deeds, or when learning or casting spells.  In the later case, the amount of corruption a character receives is equal to the spell’s level for natural magic (to be explained later) or equal to 1d6 per spell level for sorcery.  No Resolve check is allowed for spells, the loss of Resolve is the price of power and heroes who wish to remain steadfast in their convictions would do well to wield magic only when absolutely necessary.

Corruption from choices and experiences

• Every three encounters without rest (0/1d2)
• First encounter with a character with great wealth or magic items (0/1d3)
• Transferring a magic item to another character (0/1d3)
• Each day in a dangerous place (0/1d3)
• Each month away from home or another comfortable place (0/1d4)
• An act of Revenge (1/1d4+1)
• Creating a magic item with a base price between 1,000 and 5,000 gp (0/1d6)
• Death of a Friend (0/1d6)
• When leaving a place of beauty or safety (0/1d6)
• Achieving great power, success, or wealth (1/1d6+1)
• Creating a magic item with a price between 5,001 and 20,000 gp (0/1d10)
• Aging a year if you are an Elf (0/1d10)
• Using power unnecessarily (1/1d10)
• Creating a magic item with a base price between 20,001 and 100,000 gp (1/1d10)
• Breaking the Balance (2/2d10+1)
• Creating a magic item with a base price of 100,001 gp or higher (2/2d10+1)
• Initial exposure to the One Ring (1d10/1d100)

Magical Corruption

Certain creatures or effects can cause corruption:

• A curse (this can vary, but a powerful curse would cause 3d6 Corruption and an equal amount of Burden)
• Dragon-sickness (1/1d10+1)
• Physical contact with the undead (1/1d6)
• The Black Breath (2/2d6)
• Vile Damage (each point increases Burden by 1 and causes 1d6 Corruption)

Short-term Corruption

Small loses of Resolve have little impact on a character, but the cumulative effect makes him more likely to suffer greater and greater Corruption in the future.  When a character suffers an amount of Corruption equal to at least ½ his Wisdom score, he experiences a brief loss of control lasting 1d10+4 rounds.  During this time, the GM will explain to the player how the character reacts based on the circumstances.  A character facing powerful or numerous foes may decide to flee, for example, or he may refuse to transfer a magical item to another character even if it seems wise to do so. 

In the Lord of the Rings Boromir experiences this kind of madness when Frodo refuses to give him the One Ring to fight the Enemy.

If the Corruption causes a loss of Resolve equal to or greater than his Wisdom score, he acts in a corrupt fashion for 1d10x10 hours instead.  This type of Corruption can have lasting repercutions.  A character experiencing dragon-sickness who flees with a large amount of the party’s gold is unlikely to simply wander back and apologize a few hours later.  A good character will feel guilty for some time and may need to be encouraged by his friends to return to their group.  NPCs noticing the character’s behavior will react accordingly.

Indefinite Corruption

A loss of Resolve equal to 20% (one-fifth) the character’s current total in the space of 1 hour causes him to experience an indefinite state of corruption.  Usually, this lasts 1d6 months and during that time the character comes under GM control.  Returning the character to active adventuring may be difficult or even impossible.  In any case, the character will need to spend a significant amount of time convalescing to reach a level of Resolve which would make adventuring advisable. 

Permanent Corruption

When a character reaches 0 Resolve or less, he begins to slide into a permanent state of Corruption.  Each day, he loses another point of Resolve.  Once his Resolve reaches a negative value equal to his Charisma score, he becomes hopelessly corrupt and falls under GM control.

Gaining or Recovering Resolve

Level Advancement

A character’s current Resolve can become higher than her starting Resolve as a result of gained levels: Whenever a character gains a new level, she rolls 1d6 and adds the result to her current Resolve.

Story Awards and Heroism

Upon the completion of an adventure or when performing an act of self-sacrificing heroism the GM may award a Resolve increase.

Immediate Care

When someone suffers an episode of temporary corruption, another hero can bring him out of it by making a DC 15 Heal check as a full-round action. Immediate care can also stabilize the Resolve score of a character whose current Resolve is at -1 or less. On a successful DC 15 check (requiring a full-round action), the character’s Resolve score improves to 0.

Long-Term Care

Providing long-term care means treating a disturbed person for a day or more in a haven (Edhelhond, Grey Havens, Lórien, Rivendell or another protected area). A healer must spend 1d4 hours per day doing nothing but tending to the corrupted character. If the healer makes a DC 20 Heal check at the end of this time, the corrupted character recovers 1 Resolve point.

Restoring Resolve with Magic

Some magical effects can halt Corruption.

Atonement: When a character’s own actions inadvertently lead to an evil act that causes the character to suffer Corruption, a successful use of the atonement spell can restore all Resolve lost as a consequence of that act.

Calm Emotions: While the spell is in effect, the targets act calmly and ignore behavior changes caused by Corruption.

Heal: In addition to its normal effects, heal restores 10 Resolve points and stops any episode of short-term corruption.

Restoration: If the caster chooses, restoration can restore 1d6 Resolve points per two levels to the subject (max 5d6) instead of having its normal effect.

Restoration, Greater: If the caster chooses, greater restoration can restore the subject to his maximum Resolve instead of having its normal effect.

Restoration, Lesser: If the caster chooses, lesser restoration can restore 1d4 Resolve points to the subject instead of having its normal effect.