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Post by joatmoniac on Apr 11, 2019 6:16:39 GMT
This exercise from rorrik and I harkens back to Episode 174 with Mitch and Neal, Sickness and Disease. We’ll be designing diseases for our games! Below is a list of names you can use as inspiration, but feel free to bring your own names if you have them! 1. Hopeless Hands 2. Celestial Affliction 3. Silent Syndrome 4. Paragon Insanity 5. Deathbell Mutation 6. Scrying Blight 7. Numbing Bones 8. Haunted Delusion 9. The Assumption 10. Halibut Heart Use the questions below to guide you as you bring out all of the horrible impact these diseases can have on our worlds. 1. How is the disease contracted? 2. What are the symptoms? 3. What is the end result if not cured? 4. What is the cure? 5. Anything else? Let the mental weight lifting begin! |
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Post by shellbackbeau on Apr 11, 2019 6:57:15 GMT
6. Scrying Blight
Use the questions below to guide you as you bring out all of the horrible impact these diseases can have on our worlds.
1. How is the disease contracted?
There are multiple ways to contract the Scrying Blight. The most common is when the victim casts a divination spells often, this increases the likelihood of contracting, but they become exposed to it when a divination spell goes awry. Whether due to faulty or lower quality equipment, bad incantations, muscle cramps, or the inopportune hiccup; or they attempt to divine upon a powerful creature who fights off the spell.
2. What are the symptoms?
The symptoms include, but are not limited to, blurriness during Scrying, Scrying attempts landing on the wrong victim (the worse the blight, the further away it gets) and can even send the Scrying to an outer plane. But worse is the other side of the blight. Sometimes the blight instead causes Scrying attempts in the area to be attracted to the victim.
3. What is the end result if not cured?
The blight will become worse over time, and eventually it will reach the point where divination magic will no longer be accessible to the victim.
4. What is the cure?
The cure requires a Phoenix feather dipped into holy water made from the tears of a gynosphinx and burned In a censor with the victims face in the smoke. They must keep their eyes open for the duration (at least 30 seconds of the 1 minute burn time of the father) and also breathe deeply of the smoke 3 times. Then a priest must cast greater restoration.
5. Anything else?
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CobaltKobald
Commoner
Posts: 6 
Favorite D&D Class: Rogue. Both my Favorite and Least Favorite.
Favorite D&D Race: Half-elf.
Gender: Male
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Post by CobaltKobald on Apr 13, 2019 19:25:54 GMT
Paragon Insanity
This dreaded disease destroys the mind's clarity, senses, and personality, leaving the infected delirious and most of all, in denial of their illness.
1. How is the disease contracted?
This disease is usually contracted by survivors of mind flayer attacks, either when the mind flayer fails to extract a victim's brain, or if a humanoid spends too much time near the corpse of a slain mind flayer. Inside of many, but not all mind flayers, is a parasite which resides in their brains and flesh, passively feeding off of their psionic energy, much like a flumph. However, if there is not enough psionic energy available in the host, it will resort to physically eating the host's brain and flesh. This never happens with mind flayers and other psionic creatures such as gith or aboleths, since they have psionic energy in abundance. However, humanoids like humans, elves, dwarves, etc., do not, and the relationship becomes highly parasitic.
2. What are the symptoms?
Symptoms include memory loss, dementia, nausea, feeling weakened or crippled, psionic dissonance, (feeling the conglomerated psionic energies from the environment second-hand from the parasite, clouding the mind) and intense headaches, and hatred of bright light, especially sunlight. The greatest symptom, however, is that the parasite causes the host to be in denial of their illness, believing no matter what anyone tells you that you are fine, even during the worst of the symptoms. Near the final stages of the disease, when the host is near death, the host gains minor psionic abilities, mainly limited telepathy, however, it is usually not enough to sate the parasites' hunger, and if it is, the host usually is left with permanent brain, sight, and muscle damage.
3. What is the end result if not cured?
If left untreated, paragon insanity will eat away at the host's body and brain until it kills them. The parasite continues to eat at the body until nothing is left but bones. Humanoids who spend too much time around the corpse can also contract the disease. If the disease is cured late, permanent brain, vision, and muscle damage can result, however, the minor psionics tend to remain, but slightly weakened.
4. What is the cure?
The parasite, after centuries of living in the underdark, is extremely sensitive to bright light, especially sunlight. and after twelve hour of being exposed to bright light, or six hours in direct sunlight, the parasite will either try to leave the host or will die on its own. The problem with this is that the parasite will not let the host willingly enter bright light for such extended amounts of time, and the host will try everything they can do to escape, fearing the light as if it were death itself.
5. Anything else?
No, I think I already integrated this category into all the others, feel free to expand upon this idea.
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CobaltKobald
Commoner
Posts: 6
Favorite D&D Class: Rogue. Both my Favorite and Least Favorite.
Favorite D&D Race: Half-elf.
Gender: Male
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Post by CobaltKobald on Apr 15, 2019 18:53:16 GMT
2. What are the symptoms? The symptoms include, but are not limited to, blurriness during Scrying, Scrying attempts landing on the wrong victim (the worse the blight, the further away it gets) and can even send the Scrying to an outer plane. But worse is the other side of the blight. Sometimes the blight instead causes Scrying attempts in the area to be attracted to the victim. 3. What is the end result if not cured? The blight will become worse over time, and eventually it will reach the point where divination magic will no longer be accessible to the victim. Here's a thought, what if in addition to blurriness and horrible scying accuracy, you sometimes see things that aren't even real. Your wizard could try to scry an antagonist in your campaign, but in addition to not even seeing the guy he/she was trying to scry, they see a monster attacking a nearby village, so the party races on over there to help, only to find that no such monster ever came near the village! You could also make the scryer watch themselves relive traumatic memories, see false glimpses into the future, and more! This could be such an awful disease for a divination wizard! |
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Post by shellbackbeau on Apr 15, 2019 21:13:09 GMT
Sorry, I was at work, got busy with life.
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Post by meribson on Apr 24, 2019 20:02:45 GMT
Here's one from my main setting: Black Blood. Named for the fact that the disease turns the victim's veins black, Black Blood was a terrible plague that ravaged the lands surrounding the Braenlo Mountain Range. First appearing nearly fifty years ago, in the span of ten years it wiped out upwards of half of the population. All attempts at using magic to cure it failed, and more than one dwarven city state was rendered desolate. By the time the disease had burned itself out, more than forty percent of the mountain dwarves had died, taking them from the undisputed masters of the Braenlo region to just another political power. As for the numbers: 1.) Black Blood is a fungal disease that feeds off of blood, and uses the lungs to spread its spores. Alternatively, if the blood of an infected person gets past your skin, then odds are almost certain that you will contract it. 2.) Besides the veins and arteries turning black, the victim gains a wracking cough, weeping sores, as well as all the hallmarks of bloodloss over the time of a week to ten days. 3.) The end result of not being cured is simple: death. 4.) There is no cure, once contracted the only hope a person has is to pray that their body can fight it off. 5.) As was swiftly discovered based on the resistance to magical healing, Black Blood is not a natural plague. It was created, and twenty years after the initial plague burned itself out, the creators were discovered. It turns out, Black Blood was a failure that got loose. The intended disease would take over the body of the infected, kill them, then reanimate the body as an intelligent plant/humanoid hybrid. The first success turned against its creators and aided in their destruction in exchange for survival of it and its brethren. Thus, the Bo'grah were born.
EDIT: Before anyone asks, yes this was inspired by the Black Plague.
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Skedrix
Squire
Posts: 40
Favorite D&D Class: Runepriest
Favorite D&D Race: Warforged
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Post by Skedrix on Apr 26, 2019 2:52:04 GMT
Deathbell Mutation
How is the disease contracted: Surviving deathbell flower poison. Deathbell flower nectar is poisonous, but also contains a disease called “deathbell mutation.” The giant bees that harvest the nectar are immune to the deathbell poison and the deathbell mutation disease.
Creatures that come into direct contact with deathbell flowers or are stung by deathbell harvester bees* must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. If the poison damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, the target is stable but poisoned for 1 hour, even after regaining hit points, and is paralyzed while poisoned in this way. If the target fails the saving throw by 5 or more, they are also infected with deathbell mutation.
* - Use giant wasp stat block, but replace the sting’s poison effect with this one.
What are the symptoms: Recurring poison, eventually ending in non-beneficial bodily mutation.
At the end of each long rest, a creature affected with deathbell mutation must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. If a creature infected with deathbell mutation fails this saving throw three times before the disease is cured, the creature’s outer surface (skin, scales, exoskeleton, etc.) develops pustules that seep deathbell flower nectar, which can infect other creatures. The creature also gains one level of exhaustion that can’t be removed until the disease is cured.
What is the end result if not cured: Outer surface seeps deathbell nectar, causing disease to spread. Pustules can explode, spreading a cloud of deathbell nectar. Each pustule lost in this way increases exhaustion by 1.
While the creature has the mutation pustules, whenever the creature takes damage, the creature must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) poison damage and exuding a cloud of deathbell nectar in a 15 foot radius on a failure. If the creature fails by 5 or more, they also gain one level of exhaustion that can’t be removed until the disease is cured.
What is the cure
Venom from giant wasps that eat deathbell bees can cure deathbell mutation if the infected creature is stung before before non-beneficial bodily mutation begins. If the disease progresses to the stage where non-beneficial bodily mutation occurs, giant wasp venom will no longer work. At the mutation stage, if the creature takes fire damage equal to twice its maximum HP within a 1 minute period, the disease is cured.
Anything else
Corpses of creatures that died while in the non-beneficial mutation stage of deathbell mutation remain poisonous for 1d4 days, or until taking 10 or more fire damage.
The deathbell flower is a purple, bell-shaped flower roughly the same size as a rafflesia. The nectar is a combination of rainwater, groundwater, and the deathbell’s own secretions, collected in large amounts for the bees that pollinate the flower, and have a strong, pleasant floral aroma. The disease contained within the flower is beneficial to the bees: bees defending themselves against their natural predators, giant wasps, will often infect wasps, who may infect the entire hive if the wasps don’t kill the infected wasp first. Uninformed persons in the area of a deathbell flower may try to use the deathbell flower as a source of water.
Poisoners may try to harvest the deathbell nectar for use as poison. It takes the nectar of 10 deathbell flowers to produce 1 vial of basic poison, as the nectar must be carefully simmered to destroy the disease without also destroying the poison. Harvesting one flower requires a DC 10 Dexterity (Nature)** check to avoid being affected by the deathbell flower poison during harvesting.
** - See page 175 of Player's Handbook for rules on using alternative abilities for skills.
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DM Just Jersh
Commoner
Posts: 9
Favorite D&D Class: Warlock
Favorite D&D Race: Gith
Gender: Male
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Post by DM Just Jersh on May 22, 2019 22:33:36 GMT
So I rolled Scrying Blight, but after going through the questions, i'm changing the name because my inner Dad came up with a pun.
Etherillness:
1. How is the disease contracted?
When you kill/attack a phase spider (or similar creature if you'd like) in a way that'd cause it's insides to splatter, any creature within 5 ft must succeed a Dex save of 15, or becomes blinded until it wipes off his face, but then a secret DM CON save of 20 is rolled, upon fail, they contract Etherillness.
2. What are the symptoms?
At the beginning, nothing happens. After the next long rest, they wake up with foggy vision. (They are seeing into the Ethereal and Material plane at the same time) and now have disadvantage on perception checks. After a full day of that, the next time they get below a 15 perception check (or when the DM deems necessary) they must do a WIS save. If it's less then 20 then roll a d4, if not you choose what the D4 roll would be, for the next minute they only see (roll 1d4):
1: only the Ethereal but can not see anything from the plane you're on
2: a foggy view of Shadowfell & Ethereal
3: a foggy view of the Feywild & Ethereal
4: a foggy view of the material plane & Ethereal
You do not change the plane you are on, and anything you see on a different plane cannot be affected, and cannot tell you are there. If your view dosen't match your current plane, you are considered to be blinded for anything that happens in your current plane. Every turn, you may choose to do a wisdom Save. If successful, you may choose your view.
3. What is the end result if not cured?
If it isn't cured within a month, then after your next long rest, you may only see the Ethereal plane for the remaining time you have the disease.
4. What is the cure?
A potion that is a mix of magical water from a feywild spring, fresh water from a material plane stream, and mucky water from a shadowfell swamp, then poured into the eyes.
5. Anything else?
Ummmmm, have fun with them. Make sure if they start rolling that Wisdom save, make sure you're considering what they're going to see if they sight shifts planes. No other senses, aside from sight, are affected by this.
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DM Fennico
Commoner
Is it bad that I have an awful poker face?
Posts: 19
Favorite D&D Class: Warlock
Favorite D&D Race: Human
Gender: Male
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Post by DM Fennico on May 23, 2019 5:06:33 GMT
Deathbell Mutation
The Deathbell Mushroom is an evil cousin to the Myconids. They didn't gain the myconids level of sentience, or mobility, but they did gain mind controlling abilities, which it passes through their spores.
1. How is the disease contracted?
Deathbell Mutation is contracted when Deathbell Spores enter your body. This can be through breath, ingestion, or through open wounds.
2. What are the symptoms?
The Mutation begins with nausea and head fog up to 2 hours after initial contact. Within 24 hours your extremities begin to go numb, and by 48 hours you lose all motor control over your body. After 72 hours the spores have reached your brain and the Deathbell Mushroom gains telepathic control over your body, it gains your memories, and can speak using any language you once knew.
3. What is the end result if not cured?
One week after being infected with the Deathbell Sopres, the body dies, and a new Deathbell Mushroom begins to grow from the corpse. If the disease is identified and the cure is applied before this time, the host can be saved, but is heavily exhausted. They gain 1 level of exhaustion for each day the Deathbell has control; however, as long as the Deathbell is in control of the body, it is difficult to notice that the exhaustion is taking place.
4. What is the cure?
A powerful Tincture made from strong spirits, Tea Tree Extract, Citrus Fruits, and Garlic must be consumed three times per day for a week.
5. Anything else?
Each new Deathbell is created from the spores of a previous one, they are all connected telepathically. Each memory of the host is stored in the Mother Deathbell from which all Deathbells spawned.
Because of the gestation period, and intense strain on the body of the host, more frail species like rodents and small animals don't produce new Deathbells, but can still be killed by the Deathbell Mutation.
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Post by letterlost on May 23, 2019 9:20:04 GMT
8. Haunted Delusion
1. How is the disease contracted?
chance of contracting disease after being possessed by ghost or similar undead with possession trait.
the longer you are possessed the higher the chance
2. What are the symptoms?
initially you have sunlight sensitivity and dreams where you are the ghost while they were alive.
as it progresses you begin to have lapses in presence during which you think you are this person based upon you dreams, not their true memories but dreamed ones based on your brief insight to their mind and personality while possessed.
as you fail more and more charisma checks, you spend more time in this alternate persona, generally having lapses in memory.
3. What is the end result if not cured?
eventually, after several failed charisma checks, you think you are this person (before they were a ghost) full time.
this might happen quickly or slowly depending on your success with charisma saves.
while this can be a long term disease, at no time does it become incurable.
4. What is the cure?
you must be target by a turn undead spell while either dreaming or during an awake experience in this alternate persona (while you think you are the ghost in life).
5. Anything else?
this disease is hard to recognize and there for treat by any who are unfamiliar with it
while you must be targeted by turn undead to be cured, you do not register as undead at anytime.
you may be drawn to the haunting areas of the ghost from whom you caught Haunted delusion from if they are alive (unalive?) and in some cases the two of you will attach permanently as you become their body and they become your mind.
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Post by DM Onesie Knight on Jun 1, 2019 23:10:51 GMT
Hopeless Hands
1. How is the disease contracted?
Hopeless Hands is a fungal infection found in the underdark. Normally, it does not affect living creatures; it mainly grows on cave walls where humidity is high and temperatures are cool. In rare cases, however, prolonged skin contact with the fungus can cause it to take root. The chance of infection is increased if the victim has open wounds, scabs, or dry, cracked skin. The scary thing is that once it makes the leap to a living creature, it becomes much more contagious, with a high chance of spreading by contact once the warts begin to appear.
2. What are the symptoms?
It begins in the extremities, first as an aching stiffness in the hands and feet. This imposes a penalty to dexterity. As it progresses, the hands and feet develop thick warts. Movement becomes even more painful, imposing further DEX penalties as well as a 5ft speed penalty. The growths spread up the arms and legs, and eventually the hands become so swollen and misshapen that objects cannot be held. By this point walking is also extremely painful, and speed is reduced even further.
3. What is the end result if not cured?
Eventually walking becomes completely impossible and the hands are useless gnarled knots. The elbows and knees begin to experience the oncoming paralysis, and growths start to appear on the face and torso. Mercifully, death usually comes before paralysis sets in much further; usually the ultimate cause of death is growths inside the lungs which cause slow asphyxiation.
4. What is the cure?
While not a cure, the progression can be slowed by regular cauterization of the growths as they appear. Cure Disease is often ineffective because the way the spell is woven recognizes the infection as a plant. An effective treatment discovered by Deep Gnomes is a strict diet consisting only of meat salted *heavily* with violet mineral salt, eggs, and a daily cup of tea made with small amounts of the highly poisonous Drow Hair Moss. The treatment is extremely unpleasant and painful, and often takes months. For those who need a quicker fix, supposedly the Duergar have developed a cure that works on the order of a few days, if you can manage to make a deal with the sadistic slavers.
5. Anything else?
Many Dwarf clans are highly paranoid about the disease, and known cases are forcibly exiled. Several settlements have been completely debilitated and wiped out by a sudden outbreak.
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Post by rorrik on Jun 13, 2019 19:13:20 GMT
A gift from my Grandmother who believed she had: Small Pox Backwards
1. How is the disease contracted?
Coughing on someone who recently recovered from Smallpox Backwards is the suspected means of contracting the disease, though its rarity and strangeness make it difficult to tell if this is the only means.
2. What are the symptoms?
Upon coughing on the carrier, you immediately spring a rash like Smallpox: blisters filled with fluid and crusted over. You immediately gain fever and aches and two levels of Exhaustion. While the disease is active, a level of Exhaustion is gained from normal travel, though not slow travel.
3. What is the end result if not cured?
Full recovery as the rash slowly recedes into the skin over a couple weeks.
4. What is the cure?
Attempts to cure it have proven only deadly. Cure Disease has been recorded to result in the creature having smallpox for the rest of its life.
5. Anything else?
As the disease never poses a threat of death, it is mostly ignored in society, though as a carrier is recovering, some societies quarantine them to protect others from coughing on them.
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Post by DMdanielsan on Jun 14, 2019 22:32:36 GMT
The Assumption
1. How is the disease contracted?
The Assumption isn't just a pandemic level contagion, but was introduced through biologic warfare. Well, maybe not warfare per se, but it was introduced synthetically by a trickster fey. He walked around the lands putting on the disguise of being a real dick. He would passive aggressively trick people into assuming things were correct just to prove a point in conversation because they felt they couldn't allow him to be right. With his magic abilities, the fey creature magically infected these victims, and the disease is spread through similar means.
2. What are the symptoms?
When you've got Stage 1 Assumption- You begin to take things at face value without looking anything up
When you've got Stage 2 Assumption- You believe that everything you believe is fact, without looking up any proof
When you've got Stage 3 Assumption- You believe that everything anyone says is fact, without looking up any proof
When you've got Stage 4 Assumption- You polymorph into a donkey
effects stack
3. What is the end result if not cured?
Stage 4 is the end result, and can only be reversed through a wish spell.
4. What is the cure?
Once you have stage 3 Assumption, you're pretty much doomed outside of a wish spell. However, if you catch the assumption early you can cure it through evidence of cold hard facts proving the opposite of the infected's point, though this is not a perfect cure. If you prove that they are correct, however, they immediately progress to stage 3.
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Post by DM Onesie Knight on Jun 17, 2019 16:55:57 GMT
@dmdanielsan
Holy ****, this plague is endemic to Fox News
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DM_DragonPunisher
Commoner
Posts: 3
Favorite D&D Class: Barbarian
Favorite D&D Race: Dwarf
Gender: Male
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Post by DM_DragonPunisher on Jun 18, 2019 4:15:43 GMT
#8 Haunted Delusion
1. How is the disease contracted?
Haunted Delusion is contracted by coming into contact with the plant known as Witch Thorn. Either by ingesting the delicious dark purple gooseberry-like fruit that grows on the vines or by being pierced by a thorn from its often animated vines.
2. What are the symptoms?
The most common symptom is an insatiable hunger for the fruit causing it's victim to gorge itself on them without stopping. Sometimes victims will eat rotting fruit, sometimes they will be led deeper into a thicket of the plant relentlessly seeking more fruit, slashing themselves open on the thorns and exasperating the condition. A less common symptom, usually related to the plants namesake scenario described below, the victim will also hear haunting voices convincing them to go to any length to get others to eat the fruit (and spread the sickness throughout the party, town, household, etc.) This can often result in the victim becoming hostile and violent.
3. What is the end result if not cured?
The victim ultimately dies and a new plant begins to grow out of the engorged stomach. Whether this death is from over consumption, blood loss from lacerations, or as a result of becoming hostile and violent towards other in an attempt to get others to eat the fruit, the plant's goal of reproducing and fertilizing its offspring's new roots with sustenance from the victims dead body. Rarely, a witch will make her home within the heart of a thicket and take control of the surrounding plants. She will often utilize the mind controlling powers that the plant possesses in order to ensnare prey for herself. This is the very reason for the both the name of the vine and the sickness it causes as the legends around this plant are always entwined with a witch.
4. What is the cure?
The timing when treating this illness is key to its success. Within the first hour of contact Lesser Restoration spell or potion can usually remedy the condition. After the first hour, the debilitation has taken root and only a greater restoration spell or potion or the use of the Wish spell can reverse the affects. Some healers have been successful with a slower, albeit mundane approach of boiling the root of Witch Thorn for no less than an hour in the extract of King's Willow flower and chasing the bitter concoction with a greater healing potion.
5. Anything else?
Though most people who experience Haunting Delusion never have the misfortune of experiencing it again, because of death usually, those who are unfortunate enough to be exposed to this sickness again find themselves miraculously resistant to its affects. Some are even immune to the poisonous plant after surviving an encounter with Haunting Delusion.
Also, it has been said that a tribe of malicious goblins have been known to use the juice of the Witch Thorn fruit as a type of demented poison on their arrows and blow darts, toying with their victims as they stumble around in a delusional stupor in some sort of sick game of cat and mouse.
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