Starkad wrote:
The Perils of the Realms Rules Reference states “Taint is caused by sorcery, exposure to the fey, or travel through the fey realms” – but there is no guide to how much Taint is gained.
(Yes, I could make it up for my own game but, as you devised this, I wondered if you had any ideas?)
That's because the places in my rules in which you gain Taint (using magical items, casting spells, etc.) explain in those sections how you acquire it - or places in adventure write-ups, etc. There isn't like a table that explains action X causes Y amount of Taint.
In summary (and this is HUGELY condensed), indirect attack spells always cause at least 1 Taint. Magic potions tend to cause Taint (depending on the strength of the potion - not all potions of Occult Acuity convey the same bonus to Psychic Talent). Sorcerers use Magic Points to protect themselves against Taint so can continue to cast spells after their MPs have been exhausted, but to do so imbues Taint equal to the number of MP they are short. And some spells that infuse a target with magical energy of some kind (think
Weakness might also Taint the target. At some point, I'll publish all of my DW content on the Cobwebbed Forest, but I just never seem to get the time to write everything up neatly and upload it...
Starkad wrote:
Losing attributes is, in my experience, quite a serious thing - especially in an extended campaign. The inevitability of losing attributes through Taint (especially if the campaign exposes the players to Faerie on a regular basis) seems a little harsh to me.
Yes, very - which makes sorcerers much less likely to just go around blasting their enemies with magical fire at every opportunity. I've played in a few campaigns in which the sorcerer character pretty much only used their artillery spells - fearing to use their other spells in case they needed to bring out the big guns later in the day. However, now, to do such a thing carries a terrible price on the sorcerer - better to use intimidation, fear, and the
threat of it to cow your enemies or to discover creative uses for more subtle sorceries that don't carry the curse of Taint. Taint can be reduced but, over time, those who delve in the eldritch dens of faerie magic, or wield powers of the netherworld will inevitably become corrupted by it. Which is much more in keeping with the low magic, low fantasy feel of DW. There are some other elements I've incorporated into the Sorcerer profession to balance Taint that I'll make available in the Forest in due course.