City of the Dead ch. 4 addendum: Grave Rot
Dec. 4th, 2023 07:36 amSomething I forgot to mention at the end of my series of 3 blogs about session 4 of my D&D adventure, The City of the Dead, is that the players aren't out of harm's way yet. They're all inffected with Grave Rot.
Grave Rot is a disease I made up that's carried by bükken, the burrowing undead similar to ghouls I created for my game world. The group has had multiple combats with bükken and each person has been scratched multiple times. The disease allows a saving throw to avoid infection (a standard provision in D&D) but at this point everyone's been clawed and scratched so many times they've all failed at least once.
So, what happens next? This is where I used the technique of passing a clue-note to a player so they could explain it in character, as the group's knowledgeable person on the subject, to everyone else.
I passed this note to the guy who plays Terence, a cleric of the goddess opposed to undead. He'd know the most about the disease because he knows the most (by far) about countering the creatures who spread it. Also, note I made it a DC 19 Knowledge (Religion) check. Terence has a +10 on that skill so it's within his wheelhouse.
"I'll check my Knowledge (Religion), too!" offered Hawk, who plays Astrin, the paladin. She rolled poorly and didn't make it. I suggested the in-game explanation for that could be, "Well, Astrin is actually immune to such diseases as an extraordinary ability of her Paladin class, so she skipped Religion class the day they taught that." 😂
Grave Rot is a disease I made up that's carried by bükken, the burrowing undead similar to ghouls I created for my game world. The group has had multiple combats with bükken and each person has been scratched multiple times. The disease allows a saving throw to avoid infection (a standard provision in D&D) but at this point everyone's been clawed and scratched so many times they've all failed at least once.
So, what happens next? This is where I used the technique of passing a clue-note to a player so they could explain it in character, as the group's knowledgeable person on the subject, to everyone else.
Grave Rot (Religion DC 19)
Attacks from bükken can infect victims with the disease Grave Rot. It causes Con damage. At this point likely everyone is infected. First symptoms only appear after 1-3 days. This ability damage is not permanent; it heals naturally at the rate of 1 point/day (double with complete rest). But those infected suffer more damage every day and will likely die unless the disease is removed.
Attacks from bükken can infect victims with the disease Grave Rot. It causes Con damage. At this point likely everyone is infected. First symptoms only appear after 1-3 days. This ability damage is not permanent; it heals naturally at the rate of 1 point/day (double with complete rest). But those infected suffer more damage every day and will likely die unless the disease is removed.
I passed this note to the guy who plays Terence, a cleric of the goddess opposed to undead. He'd know the most about the disease because he knows the most (by far) about countering the creatures who spread it. Also, note I made it a DC 19 Knowledge (Religion) check. Terence has a +10 on that skill so it's within his wheelhouse.
"I'll check my Knowledge (Religion), too!" offered Hawk, who plays Astrin, the paladin. She rolled poorly and didn't make it. I suggested the in-game explanation for that could be, "Well, Astrin is actually immune to such diseases as an extraordinary ability of her Paladin class, so she skipped Religion class the day they taught that." 😂