Some of the most feared things which can affect characters are the myriad diseases and poisons which infest the dark and grim places of the world. There’s nothing quite as unsettling than a plague which strikes the character’s home city, especially when they are still within its gates. Likewise finding a venomous serpent in the bed or being attacked by giant scorpions can be moments of high drama.
Diseases and poisons are near infinite in their varieties but, for game purposes, are handled in the same way.
All diseases and poisons manifest a number of traits important to
their effects.
Application: The method of how the disease or poison is introduced into the victim.
Ingestion - Effects take place through either eating or drinking.
Inhaled – Effects take place through breathing or snorting.
Contact – Effects take place through absorption through the skin.
Injected – Effects take place when the substance is injected into the body through piercing.
Potency: The virulence of the disease or poison. This value is set against an appropriate resisting skill (usually Endurance or Willpower) in an opposed roll. If character wins the roll they shrug off its effects. If however they lose the roll, then they suffer all of the disease or poison Conditions, each at the appropriate time.
Resistance: How the disease or poison is resisted – either Endurance or Willpower, but may have more exotic resistance requirements. Resistance can be rolled at the time of exposure, or deferred until the Onset Time to conceal the fact the character might have been infected or poisoned.
Onset Time: Many diseases and poisons do not take immediate effect. The delay is called the Onset Time, and this can be a matter of seconds, minutes, hours, or even longer. Poisons or diseases possessing multiple effects may have different onset times for each one
as described under Conditions.
Duration: How long a disease or poison’s Conditions last.
Conditions: Every toxin has one or more Conditions. These have specific effects as described in the Conditions table, below, and if a victim fails to resist he suffers all the Conditions described.
Antidote/Cure: If the toxin can be treated it will be noted here. Otherwise all non-magical diseases and poisons can be alleviated by specific healing magic, such as the Cure Malady spell. Successful treatment prevents any further conditions from occurring, yet in some circumstances may leave the victim suffering enduring effects that have already been inflicted.
Condition | Effects |
|---|---|
Agony | Victim is hindered by intense pain. Whether in a location or the entire body, any skill roll involving use of the affected area must also be less or equal to the character’s Willpower, otherwise the attempt fails, and they moan or scream in pain. |
Asphyxiation | Victim suffers asphyxiation – he collapses incapacitated, unable to breathe. The rules for Asphyxiation are used. Asphyxiation may be asthmatic in nature meaning the victim only suffers shortness of breath, or complete respiratory failure resulting in death. In the later case a victim can be kept alive by winning an opposed test of the First Aid skill against the Potency of the disease or poison. |
Bleeding | Victim suffers from either internal bleeding or surface hemorrhaging which leads to the effects described in the Blood Loss. |
Blindness | Victim becomes blind. |
Confusion | Victim cannot use any knowledge, communication or magic skill. |
Contagious | Victim can transfer the poison or disease by touch. |
Deafness | Victim loses his hearing. |
Death | Victim collapses incapacitated, and dies after a number of rounds equal to his CON characteristic. |
Dumbness | Victim’s vocal chords are paralyzed, preventing verbal communication. |
Exhaustion | Victim gains an extra level of Fatigue, on top of any they are currently suffering from. |
Fever | Victim’s body temperature fluctuates wildly – from hot to cold – and muscles ache. All skills suffer a difficulty grade of Hard. |
Hallucinations | Victim experiences delusions and cannot differentiate between real and imaginary experiences. His skill and abilities are unaffected but his ability to relate to the real world is seriously impaired. Under its effects the sufferer tends to experience visions related to his strongest Passions, and any skeletons kept in the cupboard, often leading to irrational acts. |
Maiming | Victim suffers a permanent loss of 1 Hit Point in the location(s) affected, due to necrosis of the injured tissue. |
Mania | Victim is driven to follow some compulsion; such as avoiding water, paranoia, self mutilation, and so forth. The mania induced by the disease or poison will be noted in its description. |
Nausea | Victim cannot eat, and must roll against his Endurance every time he performs a stressful physical action to avoid being physically sick. Vomiting lasts for 1d3 rounds during which he cannot act. Long durations of Nausea may cause starvation. |
Paralysis | Victim is unable physically to move. The affected area, if a location, cannot be used for the duration. If it affects the whole body, the character cannot move at all. |
Sapping | Victim has their Magic Points (either the Attribute or current number) reduced. Apply the Potency of the disease or poison on the Combat ➞ Spirit Damage Table to calculate the dice roll used. Lost Magic Points do not recover until the duration ends. |
Unconscious | Victim loses consciousness for a period specified in the description. When consciousness is regained the victim suffers a level of Fatigue. |