So one of my favourite ideas from the Legend of the 5 Rings setting is the idea of Taint, a sort of metaphysical sickness and mutation that comes over someone causing them to do evil and be evil, and become more and more Tainted by doing so.
Which fits pretty nicely into Ostromarka.
Now, in Ostromarka, the slow corruption and decay come in many forms. Maybe a Curse slowly warps you, maybe you’re affected by some kind of Blight and a sickness slowly takes you, whilst also affecting others and even the world around you.
Or maybe you’re a part of the problem, corrupt in your core, an agent of corruption. I haven’t come up with a name for that idea yet, but I might borrow a bit from the Fable videogame series and call it being Hollow.
Yeah, pretty happy with that.
Of course, there are ways to cure a Blight or lift a Curse or repent Hollowness. It wouldn’t be a fair setting otherwise.
But maybe there are benefits to being tainted by the Wastes. Tempting, tempting benefits…