D&D 5E curses and diseases

[pukunui]

Hi all,

I was just looking at the slaads, and I'm now curious about something. It says that a slaad egg takes three months to gestate, and it isn't until the end of that period that the host starts to feel unwell. As a DM, would you tell the player what their character is saving against when they make the initial Con save? Even if you tell the player, would you tell them that their character doesn't know they've been infected? How would you let it play out? Would you make them wait until three months of in-game time has passed before letting them know there's something wrong with their character?

The same goes for other diseases and curses that don't have an affect right away. Do you tell the player? Does the character know? When does it become OK for the player to have their character seek a cure? Only when the symptoms first start showing?

If you announce at the table that a certain character is now diseased or cursed but not in an obvious way, do you tell the person playing the healer that their character wouldn't know - unless of course the PCs know what they're up against and thus know the disease or curse is a possibility and thus might think to cast curative spells after the battle as a precaution.

It just seems like, with these things that have a long gestation time, unless you keep it a secret, the players are just going to try and get rid of it before it has an effect. Which I suppose is OK ...

What do you guys think?

 

[Ath'kethin]

I do not have my books in front of me at the moment, so I am just answering based on what you wrote.

In terms of the slaad: I might not even have the player roll. I'd roll for them, and describe the illness later, as it becomes applicable.

Alternately, I might just ask them to roll a d20, not telling them why; I keep a copy of my players' character sheets on my side of the screen, so I could add the relevant modifiers and determine the success or failure of the save. In any case, I wouldn't tell the player that they felt sick until the disease/curse/monster description states that they should.

If the party is clever enough to cast a round of healing and remove curse and the like right after the situation, it would absolutely cure anything that could be removed by it. I see that as no different from getting a tetanus shot as a precaution after stepping on a rusty nail.

 

[Mephista]

Characters should only know as they become ill. A successful Arcana check might allow you to know about the potential of being infected after facing some slaad.

Players might or might not know, it depends on individual tables and how the GM wants to run it. I tend to run on the let-the-players-know-but-not-characters side of things. If they metagame, they get dice thrown at them.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

As a DM, would you tell the player what their character is saving against when they make the initial Con save?

Absolutely.

Even if you tell the player, would you tell them that their character doesn't know they've been infected?

I would let the player know that there is no confirming evidence of infection until the late stages of gestation. That information is necessary for the player to make an informed decision how to play their character's behavior regarding the situation.

How would you let it play out? Would you make them wait until three months of in-game time has passed before letting them know there's something wrong with their character?

The same goes for other diseases and curses that don't have an affect right away. Do you tell the player? Does the character know? When does it become OK for the player to have their character seek a cure? Only when the symptoms first start showing?

If you announce at the table that a certain character is now diseased or cursed but not in an obvious way, do you tell the person playing the healer that their character wouldn't know - unless of course the PCs know what they're up against and thus know the disease or curse is a possibility and thus might think to cast curative spells after the battle as a precaution.

It just seems like, with these things that have a long gestation time, unless you keep it a secret, the players are just going to try and get rid of it before it has an effect. Which I suppose is OK ...

What do you guys think?

To address the rest all at once: It doesn't matter how the player has their character act so long as they are informed in their choice of behavior, since the character doesn't actually need to know that they are infected, or that infection is an actual possibility, in order to be concerned about infection - or even act as though they are completely certain of infection and that it will kill them if not treated.

Just like real people can worry of catching some disease or another and take prophylactic measures, or how real-world superstitions include various examples of similar situation - the wounds inflicted by slaadi needing treated as a curse and/or disease to prevent later death filling in for taking a different path because a black cat crossed ahead of you to prevent later bad luck to illustrate to which I refer.

As for the player trying to get rid of it before it has an effect, that's a non-issue in it's entirety: The disease or curse is included in the game-play because it makes sense from a story standpoint, not because I am actually trying to make someone's character suffer the effects, so it doesn't matter what the outcome of the disease/curse ends up being since "...and we got treated just to be safe," and "...and three months later, we died," are equal in terms of being evidence that the answer to "did including that element have an effect upon the story?" is "Yes."

 

[Uchawi]

I would state the obvious that wherever the wound occurred that it was not healing, looks inflamed, is radiating an unusual amount of pain, etc. otherwise this will probably turn into a metagame discussion.

 

[Redthistle]

In the RW, people will generally seek medical advice when symptoms become noticeable. Sometimes, though, a problem will show up in a regular check up.

So ask yourself: do any of the party members get regular health screenings by either the party's healer or by an NPC healer? We know that combat situations prompt immediate attention, but what about during a PC's downtime?

That certainly hasn't ever happened in any of the games I've played in or run. The PCs generally look for help only when they're afflicted by something.

Since the slaad is an aberration, I might gently prompt an appropriate knowledge-y type PC in the group to do some research on slaads after they've encountered one (or more) of them. If they uncover information about slaad eggs, and recognized that one or more of the party members might be carrying one, then they could use the appropriate ability (skill) checks to determine that before the symptoms become apparent.

Otherwise, I'd let it wait until the afflicted PC starts feeling it.

 

[the Jester]

I'll only tell the players what their characters know. That said, in the example of the slaad egg implant, the character would have a chance to notice a funny lump in his or her wherever.

 

[Shiroiken]

I would ask the player to make a Con saving throw, but not tell them why. Nor would I tell them if they saved for failed. Arcana check to determine if the players know of the possibility of infection.

 

[iserith]

Hi all,

I was just looking at the slaads, and I'm now curious about something. It says that a slaad egg takes three months to gestate, and it isn't until the end of that period that the host starts to feel unwell. As a DM, would you tell the player what their character is saving against when they make the initial Con save? Even if you tell the player, would you tell them that their character doesn't know they've been infected? How would you let it play out? Would you make them wait until three months of in-game time has passed before letting them know there's something wrong with their character?

The same goes for other diseases and curses that don't have an affect right away. Do you tell the player? Does the character know? When does it become OK for the player to have their character seek a cure? Only when the symptoms first start showing?

If you announce at the table that a certain character is now diseased or cursed but not in an obvious way, do you tell the person playing the healer that their character wouldn't know - unless of course the PCs know what they're up against and thus know the disease or curse is a possibility and thus might think to cast curative spells after the battle as a precaution.

It just seems like, with these things that have a long gestation time, unless you keep it a secret, the players are just going to try and get rid of it before it has an effect. Which I suppose is OK ...

What do you guys think?

In the case of the slaadi egg implantation, I will have found a way to telegraph the possibility prior to the encounter with these monsters as I do in the case of The Temple of Bazim-Gorag via the Necahual natives and Draco Jones. What the Con save is about would likely not be a surprise. During the gestation period, I would describe the character as having a strange craving for bugs and worms, the eating of which would grant Inspiration. The character would also be plagued by nightmares of the Spawning Stone in Limbo.

 

[pukunui]

Thanks for all the responses, guys! I like how there are so many different styles. I'll admit that I'm still conflicted when it comes to what I should tell the players and what I should leave as a secret. I don't really like "gotchas", but at the same time, I kinda feel like diseases - and to a certain extent curses - are kinda pointless to use against PCs, since they've (usually) got such easy access to restorative spells. Maybe if things like lesser restoration and remove curse were higher level spells, it wouldn't feel so bad. I've yet to see anyone actually use the "recovery" downtime activity.
[MENTION=97077]iserith[/MENTION]: Hmm, yes. I suppose I could do an Alien-style scene and have a salad tadpole burst out of the chest of an infected NPC before scuttling off to get bigger somewhere. Then later it can reappear and attack the PCs, and they'll be forewarned about what might happen.