Taint-blessed (3.5e Template)

Taint-blessed creature
Summary::Some creatures, upon touching taint, become chosen of good.

Taint-blessed creatures are anomalies. No one knows really how, but instead of becoming more and more corrupted by the taint, it make them better people, in the common sense. Despite their fiendish heritage, they are crusaders of good. This dual nature grants them even more powers, in part because both sides want to use them at any cost.

Some (rare) Taint-blessed creatures are celestials, but most are depraved mortals or simply fiends or undead that somehow changed taint in a positive thing. If a Taint-blessed creature ever looses its taint, it would loose this template as well. To be precise, the very taint of such a creature is corrupted, thus changing into a strange mixture of Good and Evil.

This process is almost unseen. The only reason it can happen in the first place is because of the exchange that takes place between someone and its own taint : the taint feeds on its holder, and this holder feeds on the taint. When the taint touchs a pure soul through its holder, it mutes in a subtle way. If such a soul is frequented for a long period of time, the taint is permanently altered, and these changes are transmited to the holder via the link they share. Even fiends and unminded undeads can be affected this way if the correct conditions are reunited.

A Taint-blessed creature looks exactly like the base creature, but in some cases, monstruous features appear over its body, such as rotted flesh, teeth on its hands and limbs, or unusual secretions of disgusting substances. In any way, its appearance is somewhat brighter, at least when people take attention to it.

Creating a Taint-blessed creature
Taint-blessed is an acquired template which may be added to any creature with a taint score (including Undead, creatures with the Evil subtype and taint elementals) (referred to hereafter as the base creature).

A Taint-blessed creature uses all the base creature’s statistics and abilities except as noted here. Do not recalculate the creature’s Hit Dice, base attack bonus, saves, or skill points if its type changes.

Size and Type
Unless the base creature is an Undead, its type becomes Outsider and it gains the following subtypes : Augmented, Evil, and Native (if it has the Extraplanar subtype, it loses it). If the base creature is an Undead, it becomes an Undead (Augmented outsider, Evil). Size is unchanged.

Special Attacks
The Taint-blessed creature retains all of the base creature special attacks, and gains the following :

Strike of Taint (Su): The taint in the Taint-blessed creature is, to say, corrupted, and it can transmit this corruption to other tainted creatures. Once per day, a Taint-blessed creature can make a normal melee attack to deal extra damage. This damage is equal to its corruption score up to that of the foe, or its depravity score up to that of the foe, whichever would be higher. Other Taint-blessed creatures are immune to this attack.

Special Qualities
The Taint-blessed creature retains most of the base creature special qualities. It loses the Single Action Only special quality (if applicable) and gains darkvision out to 60 feet (as any Outsider). If it already has it, it doesn't stack. It also gains the following :

Aligned aura: The Taint-blessed creature has an Evil aura as an outsider with the same amount of HD. It also has a Good aura as a cleric with a level equal to its HD.

Abilities
Because of its otherworldly behaviors, the Strength and Dexterity of the Taint-blessed creature both increase by +2. Furthermore, it has at least 3 in intelligence, even if the base creature had no intelligence score.

Feats
The taint-blessed creature may ignore alignment restrictions when it selects Taint feats. It gains bonus feats if it has a high enough taint score, as said below.

Taint
A Taint-blessed creature no longer gains depravity. Instead, its depravity score is threated as being one half its charisma score +2, except if the base creature is innately tainted, in which case we use the highest value. In fact, the taint released its grip on the creature mind, its only remain being its desire for good deeds. It does gain bonus feats provided by a high enough depravity score, even if the base creature precedently didn't.

On the other hand, a Taint-blessed creature acquires corruption as the base creature. Instead of normal ill effects, it may choose to suffer a penalty to charisma and charisma-based skill checks. This penalty is -2 for a mild corruption, -4 for a moderate corruption and -6 for a severe corruption. This penalty is reflective of physical deformities, but these do not hinder its physical capabilities. A high enough corruption score may or may not grant bonus feats to the taint-blessed creature (as with the base creature), and if its score is high enough, it may die of it, as the base creature.

Organization
Typically with good creatures or other Taint-blessed creatures.

Challenge Rating
CR::+1.

Treasure
Normal or as the base creature, whichever is higher.

Alignment
Always Good (Loyal, Neutral or Chaotic).

Advancement
Per character class or as the base creature.

Level Adjustment
+Level Adjustment::2.