Magical Diseases for a Magical Setting, Part 2
Here are four more magical diseases for your use in a high magic setting. As before, the first paragraph describes each disease generically and afterwards the mechanics are written for 5th edition Dungeon & Dragons.
The Sleeping Beauty, John Collier, 1921
Grave Rash
At first, the only noticeable symptoms of grave rash are coarse grey-and-orange skin infections that appear in several blotches two to three inches wide on the neck or torso, somewhat resembling lichen. However, should a sufferer of grave rash get a cut or scrape, they'll find it does not heal, not by itself and not with medicine or magic. If they are unlucky enough to suffer a serious injury, they'll find it won't heal, either – but no matter how severe the injury, it also won't kill the victim. People infected with grave rash have been known to survive drownings, impalements, decapitations, and complete removal of their heart, though the disease does nothing about the pain. Alas, the macabre magic that keeps these unfortunates alive only lasts as long as the disease, making it one of the few illnesses that kills its victims when they're healed of it.
When a beast or humanoid touches an infected corpse, it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC 15) or contract grave rash. It can make this Constitution saving throw again every time it finishes a long rest, recovering after it succeeds seven times; otherwise, only a 7th-level spell or higher can cure them of this disease. While a creature has grave rash, it cannot recover hit points by any means, though it can still be healed of diseases and poisons. Furthermore, while it is infected, a creature cannot die; if it is ever reduced to 0 hit points, it does not fall unconscious and it does not need to make death saving throws. (Although disintegrate can reduce the creature's hit points to 0, it will not turn them to dust.) However, if the creature has 0 hit points when it recovers from grave rash, it immediately falls unconscious and must make death saving throws, automatically failing the next three. If it is not healed before it fails the last saving throw, it dies as normal. When the creature dies, then or at a later time, its body is infectious for seven years or until it is burned to ash.1
Kissing Grippe
Also called the slobbers, kissing grippe is a bacterial respiratory disease that gives its sufferers itchy red eyes, a throaty cough, congestion, sneezing, a runny nose, and a generally repulsive air of malaise; it also affects their minds, making them feel amiable towards anyone else who carries the disease. (Despite its name, it does not necessarily make its sufferers amorous towards each other, though infected who already feel this way about each other might find it easier to act on those feelings.) Remarkably, it originates among the fey, who suffer fewer of the mucousy symptoms but are not at all spared from its mind-altering effects. In the mortal world, certain hardy individuals deliberately contract kissing grippe and spread it widely in order to leverage its social influence.
Whenever a fey, giant, or humanoid ingests the saliva of an infected creature, such as by kissing them or sharing cups or utensils with them, it must make a Constitution saving throw (DC 14) or contract the disease. It can make this saving throw again whenever it finishes a long rest, recovering from the disease after it succeeds three times. An infected creature is charmed by any other infected creature, as well as the one from whom they contracted the disease, even if that creature is no longer infected. Creatures that are normally immune to being charmed are not immune to this effect. Furthermore, 1d6 + 2 hours after contracting the disease, an infected creature shows persistent visible symptoms of a respiratory infection and has disadvantage on all Charisma (Persuasion) ability checks that are made to influence creatures that are not infected with kissing grippe. Once a creature has recovered from kissing grippe, it cannot contract it again for two years.
The Weeping Warps
A magical disease that tends to spread like wildfire through populations before vanishing again for years, the weeping warps virus leaves communities forever changed. At first the only symptom a sufferer experiences is ceaseless weeping of the eyes; however, after about a week, they undergo a wracking physical transformation. Each strain of the warps carries traits from previous giant or humanoid hosts, some of which it passes on to its new victims. (Mammalian beasts can become infected, but they don't contribute their traits to the strain.) Wizard-druids deliberately made the weeping warps, though there are many conflicting ideas about why. Curing the disease is not easy, but rumour has it that it can be cured miraculously if a sufferer makes a pilgrimage of at least three days to a saint's grotto and bathes in the sacred pool within.2
Any humanoid, giant, or mammalian beast that comes into contact with a contagious creature's bodily fluids (including tears) must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC 20) or contract the weeping warps. The creature shows no symptoms for 48 hours, after which its eyes begin to tear up uncontrollably. At this stage, the creature is contagious and blinded; as an action, it can wipe the tears from its eyes to remove the blinded condition until the beginning of its next turn. During this time, whenever it finishes a long rest, the creature can make a Constitution saving throw (DC 17), recovering from the disease if it succeeds three times. Spells must be 7th level or higher to cure an infected creature of the weeping warps. 1d4 + 5 days after infection, if it has not yet recovered from the weeping warps, the creature can no longer recover from the disease by any means, and it becomes stunned as its body painfully and dramatically changes. This stage lasts for 2 days, during which the creature is no longer contagious. At the beginning of this stage, it rolls once on the Weeping Warps Boon Table and once on the Weeping Warps Bane Table, rerolling either if it already has the trait; by the end of this stage, the creature permanently gains the traits from both results and recovers from the disease. Only wish or divine intervention can reverse these changes, which are visibly apparent in some part of the creature's body. A creature can only be infected with the weeping warps once in their lifetime.3
Weeping Warps Boon Table
| d12 | Traits |
|---|---|
| 1 | Amphibious. The creature can breathe air and water. |
| 2 | Dexterous Feet. The creature has a climbing speed equal to its walking speed, and as a bonus action it can use its feet to manipulate an object, open or close a door or container, or pick up or set down a Tiny object. |
| 3 | Dicephalic. The creature has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks and on saving throws against being blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, stunned, or knocked unconscious. Whenever it succeeds on a Dexterity saving throw, Dexterity ability check, or Strength ability check, it may choose to fail instead and gain 1 discord point. It can have up to 5 discord points at a time and can expend 1 discord point to reroll a failed Intelligence or Wisdom ability check and use the new result, to which it can add 1d4. |
| 4 | Flight. Because of its wings, the creature has a flying speed equal to its walking speed. It can't use this flying speed if it's wearing medium or heavy armor. |
| 5 | Keen Hearing and Smell. The creature has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell. |
| 6 | Long-Limbed. If the creature is Medium or larger, then when it makes a melee attack on its turn, its reach for the attack is 5 feet greater than normal. |
| 7 | Mirthful Leaps. Whenever the creature makes a long or high jump, it can roll a d8 and add the number rolled to the number of feet it covers, even when making a standing jump. This extra distance costs movement as normal. |
| 8 | Natural Armor. The creature has tough, scaly skin. When it isn't wearing armor, its base AC is 13 + its Dexterity modifier. It can use its natural armor to determine its AC if the armor it wears would leave it with a lower AC. A shield's benefits apply as normal while it uses its natural armor. |
| 9 | Powerful Build. The creature counts as one size larger when determining its carrying capacity and the weight it can push, drag, or lift. |
| 10 | Secondary Arms. The creature has two slightly smaller secondary arms below its primary pair of arms. The secondary arms can manipulate an object, open or close a door or container, pick up or set down a Tiny object, or wield a weapon that has the light property. |
| 11 | Slippery. The creature has advantage on ability checks and saving throws made to escape a grapple. |
| 12 | Stone Camouflage. The creature has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in rocky terrain. |
Weeping Warps Bane Table
| d6 | Traits |
|---|---|
| 1 | Awkward Gait. The creature's movement speed is reduced by 5 feet if it is Small, 10 feet if it is Medium, or 15 feet if it is larger. |
| 2 | Delicate Skin. The creature is vulnerable to acid damage and radiant damage. |
| 3 | Diminished. If the creature was Medium or larger, it is now one size category smaller. (If the creature is smaller than Medium when it rolls on this table, reroll this result.) |
| 4 | Eyeless. The creature has blindsight with a range of 30 feet and is blind beyond this radius. Within that range, it can use its blindsight to effectively see any creature or object that isn't behind total cover, even if it's blinded or in darkness, and to effectively see an invisible creature within that range, unless the creature successfully hides from it. It can't use its blindsight while deafened. |
| 5 | Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the creature has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight. |
| 6 | Unfamiliar Hands. For the first year after gaining this trait, the creature makes all Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) checks, and all Dexterity and Strength checks made to use tools, with a -4 penalty. After the first year, the penalty is reduced to -2. After the second year, the penalty is reduced to -1. |
The Wolfish Fits
There are some widespread misconceptions about the wolfish fits; despite popular belief, the bacterial infection does not make its sufferers think they are either wolves or werewolves, nor does it make its victims more susceptible to lycanthropy. In fact, it does not truly have anything to do with wolves at all, nor does it cause delusions. These misconceptions are understandable, though, in light of what it does do: the wolfish fits cause compulsions, specifically to bite others, to stay up at night, and to run off into the forest. It can be contracted through bites, or by drinking water that an infected creature bathed in.
If a humanoid is bitten by an infected creature or drinks infected water, it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC 15) or contract the wolfish fits. 6d4 hours after infection, the creature gains the following symptoms:
- it has advantage on unarmed melee weapon attacks made to bite another creature, or on any Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, or Wisdom ability check that will enable such an attack (such as breaking through a door behind which a creature is hiding);
- it has advantage on any Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, or Wisdom ability check that would help it enter a forest (such as by escaping constraints), or any such ability check made while the creature is in the forest;
- it cannot leave the forest, don armor or clothes, or go to sleep at night unless it first succeeds on a Charisma saving throw (DC 15), and on a failure it cannot attempt to perform that action again until it has completed a short rest; and
- it gains 1 point each time it bites someone, sleeps during the day, removes a piece of armour, or spends 24 consecutive hours in a forest, holding up to a maximum of 6 of these points at once, and it may expend 2 of these points to reroll any failed Wisdom ability check or saving throw.
It experiences these symptoms as powerful, inexplicable compulsions; otherwise, the creature suffers no further mental effects. Each time it finishes a long rest, the creature may make a Constitution saving throw; the DC for this saving throw = 20 - the number of times it has attempted this saving throw. After three successes, the creature is no longer infected. A creature that has recovered from the wolfish fits is immune to it for thirty days.4
My hope with this disease is for the players to realize the potential for morbid shenanigans, provided they are willing to accept the steep cost of an infected character recovering from the disease at 0 hit points.↩
Your setting may not have saints, so change the language as appropriate, but a saint's grotto and a sacred pool is the right atmosphere for the weeping warp's miraculous cure; I encourage you to match it as closely as possible.↩
You will notice a similarity between this disease and my previous post on Wildermyth, though the weeping warps are not meant as a form of character progression. Furthermore, these tables should be taken as samples; ideally, you would prepare slightly different tables for different strains of the virus, to reflect which previous populations it has passed through. If you do this, for the first table you should choose traits that are mechanically beneficial but nonetheless suggest dramatic and potentially undesirable aesthetic changes; for the second table, focus on mechanically detrimental traits, with aesthetic changes a secondary consideration.↩
The intention here, of course, is for the mechanical advantages and drawbacks to direct a meta-gaming player toward acting out the compulsions; I am influenced by the Storytelling and Fate systems here. Ideally, a player shouldn't have to choose to play up the compulsions; instead, the character acts on the compulsion (perhaps unconsciously) whenever a player decides to do something encouraged by these mechanics, regardless of what ends those decisions are intended to achieve.↩