Curse, Environment, Mutation, Poison, Rift, Simple
Stealth +23 to notice subtle taint patterns in sensor data and metaphysical readings; DC 28 on deep scans or Navigator “taste” tests.
Description
A region of the Rift so saturated with unstable Mana and accumulated Devotion residue that prolonged exposure corrupts the physical, mental, and digital systems that pass through. Colors cling, sensor echoes repeat, and even inert matter begins to exhibit psycho-reactive behavior.
Disable
You can’t “disarm” the zone, but you can mitigate it:
Occultism, Religion, or Devotion Lore DC 27 to perform shielding rites, recalibrate wards, or realign devotion fields, granting the vessel and crew a +2 circumstance bonus to saves against this hazard for the next 24 hours.
Crafting DC 27 to reinforce hull fields and system isolation, granting a +2 circumstance bonus to ship/system checks against taint effects for the next 24 hours.
Critical failures on mitigation attempts impose a –1 circumstance penalty to the relevant saves for 24 hours instead, representing botched calibrations.
AC —; Fort —; Ref —
Hardness —; HP —; Immunities object immunities, mental; Resistances all damage 20 (it’s a pervasive environment, not a discrete object).
Trigger
The hazard is constantly active. Any creature, ship, or system that enters the zone or remains within it for a significant period risks being tainted.
Effect
When a creature or ship first enters the zone and then once every 10 minutes of continued exposure, it must attempt a Fortitude save vs DC 27 (for living creatures) or a system integrity/Crafting -based check vs DC 27 (for ships and major systems) as unstable Mana burrows into their structure.
For ships, you can roll once and apply its result to key subsystems (sensors, AI core, life support, weapons) as desired.
Living creatures:
Critical Success: You resist this wave of taint. No effect.
Success: Minor exposure; you feel “off.” You take a –1 status penalty on further saves against this hazard for the next 24 hours, but no immediate symptoms manifest.
Failure: You gain Rift-Taint 1, a custom affliction representing early-stage corruption.
Critical Failure: You gain Rift-Taint 2 as the affliction begins at a more advanced stage.
Ships and digital/construct systems:
Critical Success: Systems hold; no effect.
Success: Hairline glitches; the GM can apply a minor cosmetic quirk or a –1 status penalty on a narrow class of checks (e.g., sensor-based Perception) for 24 hours.
Failure: The affected system gains Rift-Taint 1 (ship/system version), causing recurring glitches or mood shifts.
Critical Failure: Rift-Taint 2; major behavioral anomalies or subsystem penalties emerge.
The zone is a stable environmental feature. It doesn’t “reset” so much as continue saturating anything that lingers or returns. If the PCs leave and return weeks later, treat it as a fresh hazard, but the ongoing taint in individuals/systems persists unless cured.