Disease Description

Acid Fever: When a character takes more than 30 points of acid damage and is at the same time exposed to great evil (such as the presence of an evil outsider or a desecrated area), she risks contracting acid fever. Festering boils cover the victim’s flesh, and the skin blackens and withers.

Blue Guts: This disease comes from eating the flesh of particularly disgusting creatures such as otyughs, gibbering mouthers, and gray oozes. It results in a bluish complexion, particularly around the creature’s intestines (hence the name). Many (but not all) predatory magical beasts, aberrations, and other creatures are immune to this disease, but no humanoids are.

Deathsong: One of the worst diseases known, this terrible plague has laid waste to entire communities in less than a week. Victims of deathsong can do nothing but shriek and howl as their bodies wither and blacken. Once the incubation period expires, the progress of the disease is so fast that a victim can hear his skin crackle and his bones grow brittle and break.

Faceless Hate: When a victim of this disease takes enough Strength or Constitution damage to reduce the ability score to 0, the infection disappears. The character’s ability scores are immediately restored to what they were before the onset of the disease, but he becomes a monster with no face. The character loses his ability to see (and scent, if he has that ability), but gains blindsight with a range of 60 feet. He loses the ability to speak, but gains the Silent Spell feat if a spellcaster. The victim’s alignment changes to neutral evil, and he becomes intent on killing all those who were his friends and family. When the victim has hunted down everyone dear to him, he turns his ire against all other living things. These changes are permanent, and remove disease has no effect. A wish or miracle spell restores the character, but nothing else will. If the victim dies and a remove disease spell is then cast on the corpse, a resurrection or true resurrection spell restores the character to life and to his original form. Raise dead won’t work.

Festering Anger: Brought upon by long-term, intense fury and hatred, this disease manifests as dark boils across the skin. The incubation period—in this case, the amount of time during which a character must be angry—varies, but it usually takes at least a year for festering anger to erupt. Each day after the onset of this malady, the character takes 1d3 points of Constitution damage, but she gains a cumulative +2 enhancement bonus to Strength.
Each day, the victim must succeed at an additional Will saving throw (DC 22) or attack whatever has made him so angry. The victim is obsessed with taking action against the focus of his anger, but isn’t completely heedless of danger. If the focus of the victim’s anger isn’t readily available, the victim will instead attack allies, minions, or symbols that remind him of the reason for his hate. For example, a farmer suffering from festering anger directed at the king won’t necessarily march toward the palace after failing a Will save. He might instead attack the royal guards in the marketplace, pick a fight with the local tax collector, or vandalize the king’s statue in the city square.

Fire Taint: When a character takes more than 30 points of fire damage and is at the same time exposed to great evil (as with acid fever, above), she risks contracting fire taint. Her flesh reddens and her insides seem to burn. The victim vomits bile during the worst of the disease.

Frigid Ravaging: When a character takes more than 30 points of cold damage and is at the same time exposed to great evil (as with acid fever, above), she risks contracting frigid ravaging.

Iron Corruption: This disease comes from prolonged exposure to iron worked in conditions of extreme toil and misery. Iron corruption often spreads from a stab wound or an arrowhead lodged in one’s flesh for too long. The victim is gripped with terrible chills. Her skin turns a dull metallic hue.

Life Blindness: The infected victim loses all ability to perceive living creatures, even plants. All such beings are treated as invisible, silent, and odorless. The loneliness and alienation eventually drive the victim to be completely antisocial, suffering effects similar to the emotion (despair) and emotion (hate) spells.

Lightning Curse: When a character takes more than 30 points of electricity damage and is at the same time exposed to great evil (as with acid fever, above), she risks contracting lightning curse. As her blood vessels burst, the victim is covered in blue and black bruises. Her muscles ache and she cannot think straight.

Melting Fury: Caught by characters who handle undead flesh, this disease is as horrific to watch as it is to contract. The victim’s flesh slowly liquefies and “melts” off his body until he is dead.

Misery’s Passage: Brought upon by long-term, intense emotions of sadness and despair, this disease manifests as dark boils. The incubation period varies just as for festering anger. In addition to the damage, the victim must succeed at an additional Will saving throw (DC 15) every day or be treated as stunned for that day. Even moving takes too great an effort.

Possession Infection: This malady occurs only after an evil spirit, outsider, or other dominating force (including the effect of dominate person cast by an evil caster) has possessed the victim. The victim slowly becomes despondent and lethargic, apparently mentally affected by the alien presence that was within her soul. Sound Sickness: When a character takes more than 30 points of sonic damage and is at the same time exposed to great evil (as with acid fever, above), he risks contracting sound sickness. Given to fits of shouting, the victim of this disease shows no visible illness, but he staggers about, barely able to keep to his feet.

Soul Rot: Creatures that eat the flesh of an evil outsider can contract this horrible malady. Soul rot eats at the victim’s mind and soul until she dies a horrible, agonizing death full of pain and misery.

Vile Rigidity: This infection at first seems a boon. The victim’s skin toughens, granting a +1 natural armor bonus to AC 24 hours after the infection starts. On the second day, this becomes a +2 bonus. On the third day, the natural armor bonus improves to +3, but the victim takes a –2 penalty to Dexterity. Each day thereafter, the victim’s skin becomes thicker and thicker, adding a cumulative +1 natural armor bonus and a –2 penalty to Dexterity. This lasts until the victim’s Dexterity reaches 0, indicating that his ever-thickening flesh has entrapped him. At this point, the victim dies of suffocation.

Warp Touch: One of the worst effects of raw chaos and dissolution, the malady known as warp touch has a random set of effects that manifest immediately. Once it takes hold, no more saving throws are needed: The malady gets neither better nor worse. A remove disease accomplishes nothing. When a character falls victim to this disease, roll on the previous table.

Damage

Acid fever Injury DC 18 1d3 days 1d6 Str ²
Blue guts Special DC14 1d3 days 1d4 Str
Deathsong Contact DC 25 1 day 1d8 Str, 1d8 Dex, 1d8 Con
Faceless hate 1 Injury DC 20 1d4 days 1d6 Str, 1d6 Con ³
Festering anger 1 Special DC 22 Varies Special
Fire taint Inhaled DC 18 1 day 1d6 Wis ²
Frigid ravaging Injury DC 18 1 day 1d6 Con ²
Iron corruption Injury DC 24 1d3 days 1d4 Con
Life blindness Inhaled DC 21 1 day Special
Lightning curse Contact DC 18 1 day 1d6 Int ²
Melting fury Contact DC 16 1d6 days 1d4 Str, 1d4 Dex, 1d4 Con
Misery’s passage Injury DC 15 Varies 1d6 Str ³
Possession Infection Contact DC 17 1 day 1d6 Wis, 1 1d8 Cha
Sound sickness Contact DC 18 1d3 days 1d6 Dex 2 ⁴
Soul rot Special DC 23 1d8 days 1d6 Wis, 1d6 Cha
Vile rigidity Contact DC 19 1 day Special
Warp touch 1 Contact DC 20 Immediate Special

1. Successful saves do not allow the character to recover. Only magical healing can save the character.
2. When damaged, character must succeed at another saving throw or 1 point of temporary damage is permanent drain instead.
3. The victim must makes three successful Fortitude saving throws to recover.
4. With each failed saving throw, a second saving throw must be made.If at any time the second save fails, the victim becomes permanently deafened.