101 curses

[thatdarncat]

So tonight, as he was dieing, one of my NPC baddies cursed a PC. The curse changes every day - some days it's an annoyance, other days it's potentially disastrous.

So far I have the standard -6 to an ability and the wacky "Horses are invisible to you."

What other weird, dangerous or annoying curses have you inflicted on your players?

 

[Agent Oracle]

I'm more fond of mixed blessing curses.

Curse of the Miser: You cannot part with any money unless it is ABSOLUTELY VITAL to your survival, and even then you have to make a will save to do it (DC = amount of coinage spent (in the largest denomination that the cost can be expressed in, rounded up)/10), nor can you turn down any offers that will result in you being paid money. (regardless of how little). However, you obtain a natural ability to detect stockpiles of finances. a sort of internal compass gives you a general direction "That way there be treasure".

Accursed Twitch: You cannot stand still. Physically you are compelled to tap your foot, jiggle your leg, twiddle your fingers, pump your arm, nod your head, and gyrate your body in all ways imaginable. The good news is that you are quite limber from all the bending and flexing (+4 AC bonus) the bad news is that i's impossible to do anything that requires fine motor control (-4 on all dex-based checks).

Curse of strength: +12 STR for purposes of damage and carrying capacity, however, whenever they attempt to perform any kind of motor activity: (lock-picking, climbing, picking up something small) they must roll a concentration check (DC determined by the DM) to prevent crushing the item in their grip like a grape. This is especially true when handing living things...

Curse of insight: you become lost in your own thoughts in regards to the grandeurs of the world, +10 on all knowledge checks, whether the skill is trained or not. -10 on all observation related checks.

 

[Andre]

One I inflicted on a monk PC was definitely a mixed blessing. As a lawful, disciplined character I reasoned that losing control would cause significant distress to the character. So when fighting a group of witches, one cursed him with battle lust. Any time he was involved in battle, he immediately entered rage (as the barbarian ability) and remained that way until the battle ended. The problem was that he couldn't stop so long as a single opponent remained. He couldn't retreat, he couldn't stop to heal a comrade - he could only fight. It never came up, but I also planned that if he couldn't reach any enemies (for example, if they were flying), he would attack anyone he could reach, even party members.

The player never figured out what was going on (he never connected the failed save with the change that overtook him later). When the curse first manifested, he saw it as a boon, figuring getting free rage was great...until the party got in over its head and he couldn't retreat. Ended up with the party sticking together and all of them being captured. Unfortunately, the campaign ended several sessions later, so the curse was never resolved.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Curse of the Coward. Your "Fight or Flight" response is spring-loaded in the "Flight" position. You must make a Will save (DC 15+ number of rounds of combat) each round of combat or flee.

 

[reason]

...

Curse of the Perceptive Insult: a low, hissing voice whispers the most hurtful, insightful insult possible at each new person met, whilst the cursed is nearby and the victim is not looking at them. You might learn something, but at what cost?

Curse of Fungoid Pallor: your skin is a sickly grey, and disturbingly-shaped, poisonous fungus grows overnight about wherever you sleep.

Curse of Stabbing Knives: at the most crucial and inconvenient moments, you feel just as though someone ran a stilleto into you; all the normal consequences: exclaimations, doubling up, extreme pain, the dread of uncertainty.

Curse of the Mind Mists: all memories come and go; from hour to hour you may forget your name, your companions, your skills, your goal.

Curse of Vermin: diseased insects and other vermin are strangely attracted to you; a creeping swarm will follow behind - and crawl about you when you stop to rest.

Curse of the Whispering Demons: a thousand lesser fiends spread throughout the realm, sitting on shoulders in taverns, and injecting foul untruths about the cursed into every conversation. You will be reviled mightily and in a hundred different ways for years.

Curse of the Thief's Hand: your left hand is ever restless; if you do not keep it under lock and key, it will steal all it can and place the loot into your pack and pockets.

Reason
Principia Infecta

 

[Eytan Bernstein]

As shameless as it is, this post looked like a good place to mention Curses! by Silven Publishing, a PDF with tons of curse-related content. It's got a chart full of curses for the bestow curse spell (among numerous other things).

 

[Dross]

You favour your dagger or other least powerful weapon in combat.

You have a constant cough or sneeze, requiring a Concentration check every tome you attack or perform some other action. Failure means no action.

You have the scent ability. Unfortunately everything smells like wet, burnt dog, even your companions.

All food tastes like wet cardboard and requires a FORT save to eat or keep down, possibly with the DC increasing over time.

You belevie that you are a different class and act appropriately, even if you do not have the ability to cast spells, dodge spells, etc.

Depending on the PC class abilities, the PC becomes the face of the group. No one will deal with anyone else but that PC. He is considered the Leader. Alternately have everyone ignore the PC (unless it eould be advantageous to the PC ie shoplifting).

At every mention of a specific word, you start doing something inappropriate (picking your nose during important talks, dropping weapons before a fight). Just make sure that it is a commonly used word.

You beleive that you are cursed, and anything bad that happens to you is because of the curse (you would have hit but for the curse, you would have saved but for the curse, etc).

 

[Aus_Snow]

Crippling insomnia, megalomania, MPD, phobias, painfully acute sense(s) [e.g. hearing], something like a love spell but with *all* potential partners, muteness, lameness (reduce speed etc.), and many other such things have been fun in various campaigns I've been in or run.

Plus stuff already posted (I didn't want to double up there.)

 

[Nightfall]

Curse of the Unknown: Each day becomes a mixed bag of what might be...

One day you wake up and find yourself (and the other party members) lost in the vastness of one of many Abyssal Caverns, in say Zuggy's home. Next day, Dragon's Aerie/Tiamat's treasure horde.

Some days are better than other eh? I figure mixing in Land of the Lost, Doctor Who with Beyond Countless Doorways is a nice way for the PCs to say "Well I'd like someplace to spend it..."

 

[grodog]

Ed Greenwood wrote a Dragon article with 100 or 101 curses, back in the day: "Curses!" in issues #77. Well-worth checking out for inspiration.