Non-removable blindness and deafness?

[Jon_Dahl]

In my campaign I'd like to have NPCs that have handicaps such as blindness and deafness. However Remove Deafness/Blindness is fairly easy to access, so it's kind of difficult to have such handicaps. PCs might just cure the blindness in matters of seconds if they choose to.

So let's see how an NPC could be really permanently blind without simple magic spoiling the whole thing.
- Eyes are permanently removed. In this case RB/D is useless by RAW.
- Brain damage (RB/D most likely can't regenerate brain tissue).
- Born blind. Such person is considered to be naturally blind.
- Cyst or tumor. I don't know if RB/D can magically remove such tissue.
- Technical blindness. If a person's eyesight is almost gone but still has some left (99% loss of eyesight), then I don't know if RB/D helps?

So what do you think? How can we have something like "The Blind Seer of the High Mountain" and the PCs can't screw that with a 3rd-level spell?

 

[Dandu]

In my campaign I'd like to have NPCs that have handicaps such as blindness and deafness. However Remove Deafness/Blindness is fairly easy to access, so it's kind of difficult to have such handicaps. PCs might just cure the blindness in matters of seconds if they choose to.

So let's see how an NPC could be really permanently blind without simple magic spoiling the whole thing.
- Eyes are permanently removed. In this case RB/D is useless by RAW.
- Brain damage (RB/D most likely can't regenerate brain tissue).
- Born blind. Such person is considered to be naturally blind.
- Cyst or tumor. I don't know if RB/D can magically remove such tissue.
- Technical blindness. If a person's eyesight is almost gone but still has some left (99% loss of eyesight), then I don't know if RB/D helps?

So what do you think? How can we have something like "The Blind Seer of the High Mountain" and the PCs can't screw that with a 3rd-level spell?

A higher power granted him oracular vision in exchange for blindness; restoring his sight will simply deprive him of his powers.

 

[Drowbane]

You're the DM, this is your arena. You want a blind NPC seer who cannot simply be healed, make it so.

Or if you need a "RAW" way to do it, have the damage from a vile source. As long as the PCs haven't have any experience with vile damage (can only be cured while in a consecrated location) then it may never occur to them.

Alternately, let the benevolent Cleric PC heal the NPC. The Player will probably dig being able to use that spell in such a way. Perhaps divine magic is rare enogh that the NPC never thought to go seeking a miracle cure...

You're the DM, you set the parameters.

 

[Ragmon]

As a good advice for DMs: You don't have to explain everything/anything to the PCs out of game when they ask. That and when they try to heal the blindness is any way just tell the PCs it did not work.

If by chance they figure use some sort of spells to find out, you just tell them: - its "plot" blindness.

 

[Sekhmet]

Make the blindness a curse, rather than an ailment. They'll use RBD and it won't work. /done.

Make the blindness caused by a Wish/Miracle/Deity.

 

[James the Newbie]

Have you looked at the flaws section on page 91 of unearthed arcana?

More available here

Flaw & Anti-feat Directory

 

[Greenfield]

Many a person can't afford the money needed for Remove Blindness.

Also consider the idea of the blindness as a Curse. If the person doesn't realize the nature of the problem he'll try RB/D and it won't work.

 

[Wyvernhand]

A curse is an awesome solution, possibly via Greater Bestow Curse or [Epic] equivalent (depending on severity). Since removing curses (ala Remove Curse) is CL dependant, rather than a simple pass/fail metric, it is something that the PCs won't immediately have access to...possibly ever. A god-being with a CL of elevendy billion might have bestowed the curse, or it could be something much more manageable that the PCs could remove themselves at a certain point, or possibly through a favor earned from Jaela or equivalent setting specific loli-pope with a cool hat to handle it at a later point.

Also, don't let your PCs be psions. They will laugh at your puny mortal conditions.

 

[James the Newbie]

Just remember, if a PC cant get over being blind, they may take a clever rout, such as items that grant blind sense/tremor sense

Get an intelligent magic item to listen to things for them, or just generally use different magic to over come their weakness

Also the PC's could play it more to their advantage, if they are blind/deaf already, there is no downside to them using things such as fog cloud, and zone of silence to balance things out

Ontop of that, just be a bit kind to the magicians who can get spell failure from deafness, the pc may be more than a bit cross.

 

[AeroDm]

I dig curses and like to make them things that are vaguely visible. So if someone was cursed with blindness, not only would they be blind and the curse couldn't be lifted except by more potent magic, but people would feel uneasy, dogs would bark, and so on.

Alternatively, you could just decide that the magic spell of remove blindness only removes magical blindness. A magic solution to a magic problem, and hence your non-magically blind NPCs cannot be cured.