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Post by dmsam on Feb 21, 2016 12:43:41 GMT
Hey guys, here's another thought on diseases in D&D.
I've always found it strange that diseases in D&D are healed just like injuries, especially when the disease involves a pathogenic creature (red salaad tadpole, fungi). Somehow when a creature is healed, the pathogen inside them magically gets "healed to death" and the disease goes away.
It might add a layer of realism if instead of being cured of the disease, spells such as lesser restoration has a chance of putting the disease into an asymptomatic stage, or latent stage. The creature will feel fine, no longer has the "diseased" condition, until something stresses their body (exhaustion, injury, emotional stress), at which point the pathogen reactivates.
To be cured, the infected creature can either develop the appropriate antibodies to kill the pathogen (a con save), or it can ingest (or be infused) the appropriate antimicrobial therapy, both of which kills the pathogen.
Better yet, why not have a character who is proficient in medicine give surgery a go? Cut the tadpole right out.
Of course, this would mean the DM would have to know some medical knowledge to make things fly. What do you guys think?
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Post by dmxtrordinari on Feb 23, 2016 5:22:57 GMT
I think if it works for your game, and your players would be interested in the added depth then it's great. Personally I might try to homebrew a few diseases that act in a similar way. Lesser Restoration puts the disease into the latent stage and say if the PC ever goes into death saving throws again and they live the stress of that causes the disease to resurface. I lack any real medical knowledge so I'd look for diseases set in clear terms mechanically so I could apply them to a game.
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Post by dmsam on Feb 23, 2016 18:50:52 GMT
I've come by a few homebrew monsters (plants, etc) that implant a parasitic seedling that requires the spell blight for removal, which I find very cool.
To be honest, considering that fungi are plants in d&d, I feel like that mechanic could be applied more widely, such as to a custom gas spore. Rather than just a lesser restoration, make it require blight! It'll at least make plant/fungal infections much scarier and the method of removal more traumatic.
Even in real life, the treatment is NEVER completely benign. Every antimicrobial is a poison that attacks the targeted organism. Many may cause collateral damage, which we call "side effects".
You could always give the pathogen a stat-block and treat it as an engulfed tiny creature too. Although I am not sure how to attack such a thing through complete cover.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2016 5:46:49 GMT
Too granular for my personal tastes, and those pathogens doesn't come up frequently enough in my games (as a player or a DM) to justify house rules for the sake of realism. However, it could be a good addition to a survival themed campaign.
As with any house rule, solicit player input.
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