D&D 5E Can a Paladin Cure Addiction?

[jasper]

Big J Money is sponsoring Jolly Jasper the Paladin of Jamestown. They will be visiting local AA meetings this week. Now the rub. If a Paladin can cure "disease" which of us in AA get the Lay on Hand treatment. I for one would say yes anything today tought to be a disease or "Disease" can be cured by LoH. But mommy rot and other movie type diseases would not.

 

[Sepulchrave II]

I'm not sure that appeals to genetics are super-helpful; a selective application of "real world science" doesn't mesh terribly well with magic, the supernatural and a universe constructed of four elements where sophonts of various species apparently have no problem interbreeding..

From the perspective of the paladin who is using cure disease, perhaps he or she might be able to treat the symptoms of addiction - or rather, physiological withdrawal. The paladin would note the symptoms and apply the cure.

If the cure failed to work - because science - then that's fine, but you've made that choice in part from a metagame perspective rather than looking at the in-game reality of the paladin and patient who inhabit a magical universe; maybe addiction (and disease) are caused by evil spirits.

In short, I'd allow it. You could justify it in any number of ways (Paladin's deity lent her some extra juice to effect a cure; addiction and disease function differently in this universe etc.). It seems like the kind of creative thinking which should be encouraged rather than negated - assuming that a measure of trust exists amongst the players, and the paladin doesn't ruthlessly exploit the Betty Ford Clinic loophole.

I also tend to think that allowing magic to work outside of its conventional limits makes it more...magical.

 

[Big J Money]

Welp, ignore what I said. Apparently genetic disorders are diseases. I guess I was confusing disease and infection. I would still say that a Paladin's Lay On Hands would not cure genetic disorders that were acquired through parental genes; only mutated genes. This is in no way scientific, but I would rule it that curative magic granted by deities follows the spirit of "do no harm", which includes the concept that it is not meant to change a person's DNA away from how they were born. This is just how I would do it in my setting though, feel free to do your own thing.

Or, ya know, this is medieval times. Genes don't exist, what nonsense!

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Presumably we're all role playing characters who were inculcated into a society radically different from our own and therefor don't interpret everything the same way we do. But it's not just the character's views that matter when it comes to a setting we're talking about philosophers, physicians, and the majority of people who might see addiction as a character flaw rather than a disease.

I think we have different perspectives on how a dnd world works. I was asking why the beliefs of the populace should have anything to do with how a body works.

Or, rather, why shouldn’t all those folks simply be wrong, just as they were in our own history?

 

[Baron Opal II]

If [addiction is] a disease, by any definition, can a paladin simply cure it?

If so, if a Paladin can cure a disease that is at least partly psychological, can they cure disorders that we don't define as diseases, in the modern world? Can they cure ADHD? What about Anti-Social Personality Disorder (Psychopathy/Sociopathy), or Schizophrenia?

Secondary consideration, what can or cannot be detected by Detect Poison and Disease?

I would say no, a paladin can only cure pathogenic diseases. I have considered that Cure Wounds and Lay On Hands have some sort of mental trauma reduction, allowing characters to suffer grevious wounds and not have PTSD. That said, I would say a restoration, heal or the like would work. Anything that treats the mental or spiritual would have a beneficial effect here. (c.f. level drain, feeblemind, &c.)

Edit: Although... without going too far on a tangent, IMC the paladin's Lay on Hands is an aspect of the Ancient of Day's boundless mercy... (The Creator, as opposed to one of the Patrons (gods)) Hmm... Its not healing or curing so much as rectifying... Hmm... I think I like that. I think I shall change my mind and say yes, it can.

 

[Seramus]

True Polymorph.
Become the same person you are now, just without chemical depression, diabetes, missing teeth, alcoholism, and all that jazz.

At least until someone dispels you.

 

[uzirath]

Do personality quirks come from diseases in your world?

Personality is a complicated concept. I have certainly known people whose personalities were mediated by mental disorders or the drugs they took to mitigate them. Don't get me wrong; I'm not suggesting that all (or most) personality stems from mental disorders or that mental disorders are necessary for creativity (not at all). In a game world, however, I don't particularly care about modern definitions, especially since the lines have changed significantly in my own lifetime and will, presumably, continue to change in the future. (The practice of retrospective diagnosis of historical figures creates a fair amount of controversy in medicine, humanities, and the social sciences.) I merely think that it could be interesting to play around with the concept of a deity who takes "cure disease" to another level, both more beneficial, and somewhat scary. It's a window into some of the thornier questions around genetic manipulation, injecting, if you will, a bit of sci-fi into the fantasy.

It might be interesting to have a villain around this concept. They start as a traveling healer who claim to have found magic to "cure" the masses of their "imperfections". They start out seeming like a good person, or at worst a snake-oil salesman, but really they are creating a cult of magically "perfected" people, and once they have amassed enough devotees and come into power, their true side comes out.

Yeah... this is the sort of idea I was playing with.

 

[generic]

Personality is a complicated concept. I have certainly known people whose personalities were mediated by mental disorders or the drugs they take to mitigate them. Don't get me wrong; I'm not suggesting that all (or most) personality stems from mental disorders or that mental disorders are necessary for creativity (not at all). In a game world, however, I don't particularly care about modern definitions, especially since the lines have changed significantly in my own lifetime and will, presumably, continue to change in the future. (The practice of retrospective diagnosis of historical figures creates a fair amount of controversy in medicine, humanities, and the social sciences.) I merely think that it could be interesting to play around with the concept of a deity who takes "cure disease" to another level, both more beneficial, and somewhat scary. It's a window into some of the thornier questions around genetic manipulation, injecting, if you will, a bit of sci-fi into the fantasy.

I can always get behind a bit of good sci-fi in my fantasy. Thank you for clarifying your point.

 

[MGibster]

I think we have different perspectives on how a dnd world works. I was asking why the beliefs of the populace should have anything to do with how a body works.

I only answered because you asked why it mattered what the characters think.

Or, rather, why shouldn’t all those folks simply be wrong, just as they were in our own history?

Why not? I'm certainly not going to tell you that isn't a good option. I wouldn't use it for my campaign but that doesn't make me right.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I only answered because you asked why it mattered what the characters think.
Why not? I'm certainly not going to tell you that isn't a good option. I wouldn't use it for my campaign but that doesn't make me right.

The “why”s of any given ruling are the only interesting parts of a discussion like this.