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I think fell taints are new to 4e - at least, this book is where I first heard of them. If they showed up in previous editions, it was probably in 3e.

The Lore

I confess the name made me think of something you might find staining an ogre’s underwear, but that’s not the case. Fell Taints are small predators from the Far Realm, where they occupy a niche more or less equivalent to that of our foxes. However, they’re quite a bit more dangerous when they cross into the world, which they can do rather easily in places where the border between it and the Far Realm is even a little bit thinner than usual.

Their presence acts as a beacon for more powerful and dangerous Far Realm denizens, and slowly erodes the barrier between dimensions. So if you have fell taints in a place, you’ll soon get bigger horrors from beyond popping up.

The taints themselves are also dangerous on their own, since they hunt by destroying the mind of their intended prey with their psychic powers. This is not exactly something most mortal creatures have a strong defense against.

One of the bizarre things about Fell Taints is that they’re only half real. The other half is formed by the minds of those who see them.

The Numbers

Fell Taints are Baby’s First Elder Things, with levels in the early-to-mid Heroic tier. If you’re starting an aberrant-themed campaign from Level 1, they’re going to be the first genuine Far Realm denizens your party meets.

Fell Taints can fly quite well with a speed of 6 and hover capability, or crawl along the ground at speed 1 if they must. They’re insubstantial due to that half-real thing, but vulnerable to psychic damage. The touch of their tendrils causes psychic damage, and they usually have mind-affecting special attacks as well. They’re all Aberrant Magical Beasts, and most are Small.

An ability they all share is Fell Taint Feeding: when they manage to get a victim helpless or unconscious, they can begin to feed. This causes them to lose their fly speed and become substantial until the end of their next turn, but allows them to perform a coup de grace against the victim. If this kills the victim, the fell taint immediately recovers all of its hit points. Yeah, they’ll absolutely attempt to kill any PC that drops to 0 HP during the fight.

Fell Taint Lasher

Lashers are Level 1 Soldiers with 20 HP and all standard traits outlined above. Their special attack is Tendrils of Stasis, which does a bit less damage than the basic tendril slap and immobilizes the target for a turn. When making an opportunity attack, they can shift as a free action.

Fell Taint Pulsar

Pulsars are Level 1 Artillery with 18 HP and all common traits. Their special attacks are a Range 20 tendril pulse that does psychic damage, and a Ranged 10 tendril flurry that makes a slightly weaker attack against up to three targets.

Fell Taint Tought Eater

These are Level 2 Controllers with 26 HP and all standard traits. They have two special attacks.

Spirit Haze is a Range 10 attack that does psychic damage and dazes for a turn. Tought Fog (recharge 5+) is a Close Burst 5 that only targets enemies, does no damage, and slows. This worsens to immobilization after the first failed save.

Fell Taint Warp Wender

This Level 4 Controller is Medium, and has 38 HP. Its single special attack is Psychic Transposition, which does light psychic damage, dazes (save ends) and makes the taint and the victim teleport to exchange places.

Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

The sample encounters are mostly mixed fell taint groups, because they rarely work with anyone else. Still, they might be coincidentally found alongside undead or oozes, creatures they find unapettizing. I imagine some cultists and such might also know how to bind them.

As a party’s first contact with the Far Realm, I think these creatures are quite nifty. They look weird enough to unsettle, and each has a single distinctive mechanical trick.