D&D (2024) Did Someone Cast Remove Disease?

[Deset Gled]

I'll be interested to see where it goes, but I am not terribly worried by paladins no longer being immune to disease, it was a story beat for "purity" purposes that just didn't make a lot of sense when so many other classes should have something similar, but don't.

I would like to note that easy access to Remove Disease (whether in the form of Lesser Restoration, Laying Hands, etc) has some use beyond just being a story beat. It's helpful as an in-game hand wave for why player characters never come down with a cold or strep throat while adventuring. It's something that is generally assumed to happen off screen (like maintaining equipment by cleaning your sword or treating your leather armor), but adds to verisimilitude.

It's also an often forgotten background in world building. I real life sword-and-armor times, even minor bacterial infections could be quite deadly. They're not a big concern in D&D. Magical medicine is the reason, even if it's not a conscious decision by the world's creator.

 

[Enrahim2]

I actually wouldnt be surprised if they got rid of diseases as a player facing concept. The issue with disease is that it just do not fit well with the way of playing that 5ed seem to be designed toward, with each day being a new episode with the characters refreshed to full capacity.

For oneshots and adventures league style of play diseases are meaningless as the game is usually over before any effect come into play. For campaigns it is usually just an unwelcome speed bump and/or resource drain - not really contributing anything fun. Actually "forcing" adventuring with some of the party members diseased, just breaks with the idea that all players should have equal oportunities for that session.

That leaves diseases as plot devices, and that is the kind of tooling that is best fully left to the DM(G)s discretion. That is an individual disease might specify that it do not affect paladins, and can be cured by lay on hands or lesser restoration. It is an effective way of still allowing the classic "find a cure for the kings illness", without having to be overly bothered by having to break player expectations by making it "exceptional" and hence resistant to lay on hands (an argument that falls very flat when the party never encounters any diseases that actually can be cured that way).

Poisons just are usually much more fun tools to play with against player characters, as the main difference to diseases is that those take immediate effect and hence have to be handled in "adventuring time". I wouldnt be surprised if any monsters inflicting disease will be reworked to inflict a similar poison effect instead.

 

[Chaosmancer]

I would like to note that easy access to Remove Disease (whether in the form of Lesser Restoration, Laying Hands, etc) has some use beyond just being a story beat. It's helpful as an in-game hand wave for why player characters never come down with a cold or strep throat while adventuring. It's something that is generally assumed to happen off screen (like maintaining equipment by cleaning your sword or treating your leather armor), but adds to verisimilitude.

Eh, I don't really care about verisimilitude that much. They don't get sick for the same reason we don't have them carrying toilet paper or we track how many holes are in their socks and worry about blisters. Because it isn't really interesting for the story.

It's also an often forgotten background in world building. I real life sword-and-armor times, even minor bacterial infections could be quite deadly. They're not a big concern in D&D. Magical medicine is the reason, even if it's not a conscious decision by the world's creator.

Now, for this, I use this as an element of my world-building consistently. Magical Medicine makes a huge difference in the world and I'm all for that.

 

[aco175]

Why am I thinking of a super exclusive club where you only get to go in if you can cure a beggar out front of disease. The group acts like they are doing charity but only new members are required to cure someone, meanwhile all the diseased people in town gather outside hoping to be cured. Not sure how boring and stuffy the inside is if they let in anyone from any religion.

 

[Gadget]

This discussion on diseases has got me thinking about the the poisoned condition in 5e and how it could be done better.

I have often thought that the whole 'poisoned' condition was a mistake in 5e that has hemmed the designers in. Don't get me wrong, it is a great condition, but tying it to something so specific (and so widely resisted/immune to) was a mistake. It makes it awkward for spells and abilities like the updated Contagion, where it inflicts a condition on targets that are usually immune to it.

Instead, they should have (or should in 1D&D) have called it 'weakened' and allowed room for a wider variety of causes to inflict. Immune to poison and get hit with that snake venom? Then you don't get the weakened condition. But get hit with Contagion, or something else? You're weakened. Heck, even creatures with sunlight sensitivity could be weakened in sunlight and the like. Allows for a lot more mileage out of the same mechanic while still keeping immunity to one of many causes.

 

[Blue Orange]

Wonder if people are less interested in roleplaying disease thanks to COVID?

 

[Chaosmancer]

This discussion on diseases has got me thinking about the the poisoned condition in 5e and how it could be done better.

I have often thought that the whole 'poisoned' condition was a mistake in 5e that has hemmed the designers in. Don't get me wrong, it is a great condition, but tying it to something so specific (and so widely resisted/immune to) was a mistake. It makes it awkward for spells and abilities like the updated Contagion, where it inflicts a condition on targets that are usually immune to it.

Instead, they should have (or should in 1D&D) have called it 'weakened' and allowed room for a wider variety of causes to inflict. Immune to poison and get hit with that snake venom? Then you don't get the weakened condition. But get hit with Contagion, or something else? You're weakened. Heck, even creatures with sunlight sensitivity could be weakened in sunlight and the like. Allows for a lot more mileage out of the same mechanic while still keeping immunity to one of many causes.

Hmm, that could work really well actually