Help with Evil Energy?

[CoreyXIX]

So I'm going to be running a tabletop game for some friends of mine using the Pathfinder system but i keep running headfirst into a problem. In the setting evil is an energy like substance that can spread and infect people who commit evil acts, but it can also spread to the nearest person when the current host is killed. My biggest issue is how this would apply to the player characters. i think that the way I have it set up may cause more harm than good in the long run. So far I have only a few ideas to help alleviate this:

• Have the players be able to resist the evil energy's effects until it builds up a point.
  
• Let them make Fortitude and/or Will saves to "shake it off"
  
• Let spells like Remove Disease and Remove Curse work on the evil energy
  
• Have some type of good aligned counterpart to the evil energy
  

My players like the idea so I would hate to have to scrap it. Anyone have any good suggestions or ideas?

 

[Kazanna]

I know little to nothing about pathfinder but you could make the energy like a sentient virus that is Evil by nature unlike all other viruses (which are considered Forces of Nature or biological warfare depending)

 

[CoreyXIX]

Making it a sentient virus was an idea I was considering at first. But since you have suggested it I might give it another try. This opens up a bunch of new possibilities.

 

[Grey]

Fort/Will saves are the best options. d20 systems don't respond well to this kind of tinkering otherwise.

 

[CoreyXIX]

I was afraid of that. Would it be a bad idea to increase\decrease the necessary save depending on how much of the energy is in the source? Or should I just consider keeping it at a singke save?

 

[Grey]

I reckon you can increase the difficulty based on the intensity, yeah. I'd say give Clerics and Paladins of the appropriate alignment a bonus to their save against it and give them some cure spells to remove the evil energy. Package that in with Lay On Hands, too.

 

[CoreyXIX]

Sounds like a reasoable idea. I think I may make a chain of spells similar to the Cure Wounds tree and have Paladins Lay on Hands remove corruption at a ratio of hit points healed.

 

[Pineapple]

You could also introduce a new spell for your setting such as: Cleanse Soul. The idea being it removes evil from someone, and treat evil as an entirely new disease/poison/curse/etc... You would make it cleric and set spell level based on how difficult it is to remove evil. One thing to consider is if it's easy to cleanse, then why would the players ever fear it?


It could be a will save DC based on the power of the evil that in attempting to corrupt the person. Then, when they are, what I would do it have it a gradual corruption of their alignment. (good > neutral > evil) A will save needed each day or they shift down towards evil. When cleansed the alignment would pop back to normal.


Players would need to rp out the alignment change though, which could be an issue.


Though, you could go a bit simpler, and make evil just an energy type (like cold/electric/etc..) and have it become damage over time.

 

[CoreyXIX]

Honestly I was considering the issue of alignment change and it being sentient energy. As a trade off to it being a bit easier to cleanse i figured I may make it easier to get corruption points. The fact that spellcasters only have a certain number of spells per day is a definite way to make sure it's fully easy to completely remove. And since the evil energy is sentient is would likely make the host push its own agenda, so I think the roleplaying aspect may be easier o do than we worry about.


I like your ideas for the spell though, To compensate for it I think I may make it a higher level spell (around 5th maybe?)