Don't worry, I knowThere are plenty of options if you're willing to look...
I haven't taken the time to look into it, but if that's the case... Wow!The one that gets me is that (if I'm reading right) greater restoration doesn't cure the things lesser restoration does.
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And now I'm imagining a rust monster like creature that turns diamond dust into coal...
Greater Restoration is a 5th level spell. You can and in my opinion should face clay golem before it becomes available to PCs. Also, obviously no guarantee there's a cleric in the party.Except that THERE IS an easy solution: just know the Greater Restoration spell.
If it was ALWAYS hard to fix? I'd get it. But it feels stupidly unfair that there's a REALLY easy solution or NOTHING.
In practice, it doesn’t work that way. The classes that can remove disease either get it as part of their loadout and can’t change it (Paladins), or there is essentially no cost for them to do so (Clerics and Druids prepare spells, so it costs them a single prepared slot).The intent is likely the affliction is too potent to be cured by common medicine. Perhaps supernatural in nature. I don't have the 5E Monster Manual, but in 1E it specifically says it can only be cured by magic, and in 3E it is listed as a supernatural.
Why wouldn't it be? Do you think there should be nothing in the world that can only be accomplished via magic?In practice, it doesn’t work that way. The classes that can remove disease either get it as part of their loadout and can’t change it (Paladins), or there is essentially no cost for them to do so (Clerics and Druids prepare spells, so it costs them a single prepared slot).
Meanwhile, a character that devotes resources to solve this precise issue (some combination of skills, expertise, features or magic) can’t.
For both Mummy Rot and Clay Golems, @Lanefan and @Micah Sweet say that the challenge is the point. But if that is the case, let me make a modest proposal.
For Mummy Rot, it is resistant to normal and magical healing. You require Expertise in Medicine and advanced medical tools (so not capable in the brush) to fix it. Until then, a DC 20 Medicine check can stave off the effects for 1 day (or simply give advantage on the roll).
For the Clay Golem, the cause of the max hp reduction is unclear. Say it is from wounds that din’t heal. Use the same principle as for Mummy Rot. You need Expertise in Medicine to fix it permanently , in the meantime, a difficult trained Medicine check can stave off the effects temporarily.
In both cases, a “challenge” DM can tweak the difficulty as wanted.
The only way in which the existing rules are superior is that they preserve the supremacy of magic. Why is that a consideration?
In practice, it doesn’t work that way. The classes that can remove disease either get it as part of their loadout and can’t change it (Paladins), or there is essentially no cost for them to do so (Clerics and Druids prepare spells, so it costs them a single prepared slot).
Meanwhile, a character that devotes resources to solve this precise issue (some combination of skills, expertise, features or magic) can’t.
For both Mummy Rot and Clay Golems, @Lanefan and @Micah Sweet say that the challenge is the point. But if that is the case, let me make a modest proposal.
For Mummy Rot, it is resistant to normal and magical healing. You require Expertise in Medicine and advanced medical tools (so not capable in the brush) to fix it. Until then, a DC 20 Medicine check can stave off the effects for 1 day (or simply give advantage on the roll).
For the Clay Golem, the cause of the max hp reduction is unclear. Say it is from wounds that din’t heal. Use the same principle as for Mummy Rot. You need Expertise in Medicine to fix it permanently , in the meantime, a difficult trained Medicine check can stave off the effects temporarily.
In both cases, a “challenge” DM can tweak the difficulty as wanted.
The only way in which the existing rules are superior is that they preserve the supremacy of magic. Why is that a consideration?
Nailed it!The only way in which the existing rules are superior is that they preserve the supremacy of magic. Why is that a consideration?
In some descriptions, it's noted as getting clay in the wounds, preventing them from healing.Nailed it!
Also, you're right that the Clay Golem HP reduction makes no sense an has no explanation.