D&D 3E/3.5 3.5 - Contagion, Lesser?

[Jon_Dahl]

Contagion is an interesting and nasty spell, but IMO the problem is that it's using fantasy diseases while there were plenty of normal diseases around.

Since several spells have lesser versions, I'd like to create a 1st-level "lesser"-version of Contagion which would include normal (mild) diseases.

Name of the disease - DC - Damage
Diarrhea - DC 9 - 1d2 Con
Pharyngitis - DC 11 - -1 penalty to attack rolls, skills check and ability checks (penalties don't stack & penalties are restored immediately when disease ends)
Flu - DC 10 - 1d2 Str
Whooping cough - DC 11 - 5% spell failure with spells that have verbal components (penalties don't stack & penalties are restored immediately when disease ends)
Chlamydia - DC 10 - 1d2 Dex

All DCs are highly arbitrary and for game-balance purposes only. You can view the original version here: Contagion :: d20srd.org
Lesser contagion (1st-level spell) would work exactly in the same way, but with a different list of diseases.

Help me to create this spell please

 

[Buugipopuu]

Diseases that deal a single point of ability damage don't actually do anything. Ability damage recovers at a rate of one per day, two with complete bed rest.

 

[the Jester]

Hmm, do any other 1st level spells deal "real" ability damage (which is to say, ability damage that doesn't expire at the end of the spell)?

I'm not sure if it's too powerful or not for a first level spell. Hmmm.

 

[krupintupple]

Diseases that deal a single point of ability damage don't actually do anything. Ability damage recovers at a rate of one per day, two with complete bed rest.

Actually, in a pseudo-medieval society, even a single point of ability damage could do serious damage: if you're in bed, you're not tending to the cattle, prospecting the nearby hills, fording the animals into town to be slaughtered or sheared, bartering with your neighbours, etc. The average commoner is going to have an 11 for his Strength, so when he gets hit by the flu and ignores it for a few days, that could easily wither down to 8, meaning that it's impairing his ability to work properly, and he'll loose some time, resources, and income lounging around in bed while the rest of the family prepares for crops, tends animals, etc.

Yes, it's not "blow up the village" power, and really, giving a charging snarling orc whooping cough isn't really going to turn the tide of the battle, but I've never really figured contagion to be a "mid-battle" spell, more of a "soften them up before," or "screw with their resources way before" kinda thing.

I think the single point of ability damage is fine, because it lasts until it's gotten rid of. Think of it this way: if you fall victim to sleep, or ray of enfeeblement, they have a fairly set duration but then wear off; whereas here, an ill person is going to get dinged for at least 24 hours, plus however long they need to recuperate. It the right, albeit patient hands, it could be pretty potent.

Besides, a regular but unlucky individual actually *dying* from diarrhea in four days is beyond cruel ...but funny. But cruel.

 

[Buugipopuu]

Points lost to ability damage return at the rate of 1 point per day (or double that if the character gets complete bed rest) to each damaged ability, and the spells lesser restoration and restoration offset ability damage as well.

Even if a character completely ignores the damage and keeps going to work, and fails every single save (and with those DCs, even a first level commoner is making them 50% of the time or so) it doesn't accumulate, because it heals at the rate at which it's being dealt. And if the character has an odd ability score, they don't even get a penalty to any rolls. In fact, a character recovers damage to all six ability scores at once, so they could have six different diseases, all of which deal 1 point of damage to different scores and the worst that would happen is that on some days there's a 50% chance that they're at a -1 to some rolls.

 

[Hassassin]

Pharyngitis - DC 11 - -1 penalty to attack rolls, skills check and ability checks

Whooping cough - DC 11 - 5% spell failure with spells that verbal components

How do these two stack if the subject takes repeated damage? Are they completely restored as soon as the disease ends?

 

[Jon_Dahl]

How do these two stack if the subject takes repeated damage? Are they completely restored as soon as the disease ends?

Good points, added some clarification. The idea with whooping cough and pharyngitis is that it's a flat penalty for the entire duration of the disease. Penalties end when the disease ends.

Too bad I can't XP you. Also too bad that no one has any diseases to propose!

 

[krupintupple]

Even if a character completely ignores the damage and keeps going to work, and fails every single save (and with those DCs, even a first level commoner is making them 50% of the time or so) it doesn't accumulate, because it heals at the rate at which it's being dealt. And if the character has an odd ability score, they don't even get a penalty to any rolls. In fact, a character recovers damage to all six ability scores at once, so they could have six different diseases, all of which deal 1 point of damage to different scores and the worst that would happen is that on some days there's a 50% chance that they're at a -1 to some rolls.

...right you are. I don't know where I got off thinking that ability damage could only be recovered through rest - perhaps a vestige of my old 2e days? It seems weird though, that someone theoretically could have six maladies and only suffer in a minor sense.

edit: i seem to recall that in 3.0, ability damage was only recovered with "light activity," or less; if true, this potentially (or used to) implies that working in the field would not get those lost points back.