D&D 4E Diseases and other long-term penalties in 4E

[ideasmith]

WotC is de-emphasising long-term penalties in 4E. This raises the question: How will diseases be handled.

My guess is that each disease will have a level, and will count as an opponent of that level in any encounter in which a character has that disease.

 

[DandD]

It's going to be a totally cool combat mechanics. You play then as an antibody and combat virii and bacteria.

 

[deathdonut]

I suspect they will last until a save is made with that save only being made at certain intervals or if healing is applied.

Of course, the effect is going to be different by disease or spell. We've seen the succubus kiss as a way to maintain a long-term effect and there was someplace I read about a disease that effected healing over a long term, but the location escapes me.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

I could see a withering disease slowly sap a character of his powers. First just a daily power, then another, then a encounter, then another, then your at-will. Each day you become weaker and weaker and less able to adequately perform what was once easy for you.

 

[marune]

Not handled at all ?

Diseases are boring.

 

[Frostmarrow]

Not handled at all ?

Diseases are boring.

Not handled at all ?

Disease is a plot-device?

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Not handled at all ?

Diseases are boring.

That doesn't sound so unlikely...

My guess is that each disease will have a level, and will count as an opponent of that level in any encounter in which a character has that disease.

That would be similar to my approach, too.
Long-Term Conditions can be annoying, but they would be really bad if there was no way to account for them within encounters. A constant -2 disease penalty to attacks for example always hurts, but it shouldn't be so hard to compare this to a monster that has a power that causes a similar penalty. (I am not sure if it should be worth a full monster, and it's not more like a Minion - if it doesn't deal damage. But its level in an encounter might only be dependend on the PC, not the disease. )

 

[Simm]

Even if it isn't in the book I could see it as being pretty easy to make up. Just treat it as a negative condition except saves are made once per day rather than once per round.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

... there was someplace I read about a disease that effected healing over a long term, but the location escapes me.

That was a thread here were a number of us bantered about possible long-term wounding effects. Once of the possible options was to replace the penalty to rolls with a reduction of available healing surges per day. This does a decent job of mechanically representing a weakenss without messing with the math. Additionally if you lose enough available healing surges and it starts taking days to fully recover your hit points...

...anway, there was more but I don't remember it all right now