Cowboys vs Samurai (creatures and powers)

[Taran]

I'd say that the Taint is an environmental attack, with take-out resulting in mutation. Jade is armour.  That's all within the RAW.

The aura isn't doable with the RAW, but I do have a custom Power. It looks like this:

DANGEROUS AURA [-2]
Description: Standing near you is dangerous.
Effects:
Dangerous Aura. Whenever another character spends any part of their action inside your zone, this Power makes a Fair attack against their Endurance at weapon 0. The attack occurs at the end of the target's action. This power can be turned off and does not affect the user.
Can't Touch This. Add two to the weapon rating of this Power's attacks against characters that spend their actions grappling you. At the GM's discretion, Stunts and Powers that provide odd methods of grappling may negate this effect.
Avoidable Aura [-0]. This Power makes attacks against Athletics instead of Endurance.
Extra-Dangerous Aura [-1]. This power makes Great attacks.
Super-Dangerous Aura [-1]. (Requires Extra-Dangerous Aura) This power makes Fantastic attacks.
Hyper-Dangerous Aura [-1]. (Requires Super-Dangerous Aura) This power attacks at weapon 2.
Mental Aura [-1]. This power inflicts mental stress and is resisted with Discipline.
Large Aura [-1]. This power affects everyone within one zone.
Vast Aura [-1]. (Requires Large Aura) This power affects everyone within three zones.

This is perfect for the aura.  I like how you can scale it for more or less powerful/tainted creature. The taint will always doe mental damage, so it will always have the Mental Aura upgrade.

Second and third need a lot of clarifying, and depending on what that clarification says they might not be workable.

Are any of my suggestions workable.  I didn't comment on "clarity through rage" because I thought it was more specific to his character and not to the typical samurai

Incidentally, there are one or two Iaido stunts on the Resources board list. Here's what they look like:

Quick Draw: You can draw and use a weapon in a single motion. You take no penalty when drawing a weapon as a supplemental action (page YS:213); if you're in a race to see who draws first, or anything else having to do with your speed or ability to draw, gain a +1 on the roll.

Iaijutsu: (Requires Quick Draw) You are trained in iaijutsu, the art of drawing a sword. The first attack you make with a sword each scene inflicts two additional stress. Furthermore, you may add one to your Weapons skill when making it.

I'd make Quick Draw a prerequisite to any of these stunts presented and probably set it up as a tree.

[InFerrumVeritas]

Discipline Based Skill:

Clarity Through Rage- Once per combat, Joe can shrug off one spell cast at him, but in turn, he is then subject to his trouble aspect.

(This may need some clarifying. The Swordsman of Boogie Down was taught of the never never, and conditioned to fight the supernatural by a white court vampire who feeds on Wrath. They have a bond, and she feeds on his wrath. His Trouble Aspect is "The Conduit of the White Court." This is very much a tool to be used by my DM. As a DM myself I know how important it is for the players to assist the DM in making the game exciting. For example: Joe is fighting a spellcaster. He ends the fight fairly quickly, getting the upperhand. Charging though a blast of fire and using this ability to shrug it off.  The spell caster losses his staff and the hand holding it for his trouble. Though Joe is merciful, The DM now has the chance to compel me toward wrath. And granted I have used this ability, I must accept the compulsion to finish the spell caster off. Murdering a now unarmed HAR... foe...)

This should be something more like: Once per combat, you may ignore the effects of a spell as if you had successfully resisted it.  However, in doing so you take a point of debt towards the White Court.  See YS288 for more on debt.

Thus, the GM gets a free compel.  Personally, I think this is too good for a 1 refresh stunt as it is definitely more than a 2-shift effect, doesn't cost a fate point (I'd treat debt/free compel as slightly less than a fate point because you can use it even when you've run out, meaning you don't have to manage a resource to keep this option open).  Heck, does this apply to Thaumaturgy effects?  Then it's potentially a 30 shift effect...

I'd probably charge 2 or 3 refresh.  Or rewrite this so as to provide a bonus to resisting a spell.  Like +3 or +4 (which, for a 1 refresh stunt and a compel is more in line with the stunt guidelines on YS147). 

I know this is technically a power (or should be), so has a bit more leeway.  But I still think you're looking at a 2 refresh power at the least as written (or as I am assuming you've intended it to be written). 

[Sanctaphrax]

Are any of my suggestions workable.

I think so.

As for Clarity Through Rage, I'd probably make it a +4 or +5 bonus in exchange for an immediate Compel.

[JoeOfThePr0n]

I've never used it in game, because my players opted not to fight the things that had it. But I think it's balanced-ish.

Though I should probably make Avoidable Aura incompatible with Mental Aura.

First and last stunts need a bit of clarifying, but they look more or less good-ish.

Second and third need a lot of clarifying, and depending on what that clarification says they might not be workable.

Incidentally, there are one or two Iaido stunts on the Resources board list. Here's what they look like:

Quick Draw: You can draw and use a weapon in a single motion. You take no penalty when drawing a weapon as a supplemental action (page YS:213); if you're in a race to see who draws first, or anything else having to do with your speed or ability to draw, gain a +1 on the roll.
Iaijutsu: (Requires Quick Draw) You are trained in iaijutsu, the art of drawing a sword. The first attack you make with a sword each scene inflicts two additional stress. Furthermore, you may add one to your Weapons skill when making it.

I figure that the difference between Iaido and Iaijutsu is unimportant here.

I'm both surprised and glad that Iaido has an influence around here already. See, now those are how I would have worded mine had I known any mechanics!

[Taran]

I'm going to start posting some of the monsters here - to share, if people want to use them, and to make sure the powers are balanced/work etc...

Since the campaign is using Oriental Adventures, most are going to be converted from D&D.
Before I start, though,  I noticed that a few of the creatures have abilities that cause diseases and/or transformations over time.  Where the victim might escape, but over time gets taken out and transformed into the creature that attacked him.  Is there some kind of power I can work with to do that?

[Sanctaphrax]

Transformation is probably a type of take-out narration.

Venemous Claws might cover the effect you're after, but it's probably too fast.

[YPU]

Transformation is probably a type of take-out narration.

I agree, assuming it makes the player loose their character, even if delayed, it should be a taken out effect. That being said, you might consider having it only work part way as an extreme consequence. However this would often require powers to work all the way and might just end up being to much like taint and mutation in the end. Actually, off topic bus has anybody forces his player to become a infected in game? Much the same idea.

[Taran]

Transformation is probably a type of take-out narration.

Venemous Claws might cover the effect you're after, but it's probably too fast.

I was thinking something like venomous, but instead of every exchange, it would be 1/day.  While they'd be able to remove the stress, they wouldn't be able to remove any consequences until they found the object/cure that is required.  I'm not sure how mundane diseases work, but for some, a scholarship would be enough to cure it.

If they were taken out, then the transformation would take place.  Would that work?

[Sanctaphrax]

There are no real mechanics for mundane diseases.

Given the way stress recovers, once/day attacks are pretty pitiful. I had a similar problem when trying to rewrite Demonic Co-Pilot. I tried having Co-Pilot stress not recover normally on the mental track, people told me to make a new track that didn't heal normally instead.

[Taran]

Yeah, except I always thought you needed a reason for consequences to heal.  So maybe first aid, or visiting a hospital for physical consequences.  I always saw mental consequences being a bit harder to heal because you needed a psychologist or someone with good empathy etc...

For a supernatural disease, there's no real cure.  I like the idea of questing for a cure for something that's slowly killing one of the PC's.  It's only when they find that cure that they can heal the damage.  The consequences just have to make sense for what's going on.
 
There are other creatures that implant eggs in a victim and when the eggs hatch, that kills them.  I can see that being modelled in the same way.