Vrock Spores: Disease???

[Scharlata]

Howdy!

Yesterday the party freed a vrock [MM 1, p. 40] from its long-lasting sleep as a stone statue. The vrock attacked, of course, and released a mass of spores [Ex] from its body onto two PCs - the monk [with Purity of Body] and the paladin [with Divine Health]. I ruled that the spores would damage the two characters.

My question: Are the spores of the vrock a diesease or not? The entry on "Spores (Ex)" does not really help to decide that matter. On one hand it is just damage in hit points (as such unrelated to diseases, which do normally ability damage/drain). On the other hand you can kill the spores by applying a remove disease spell on a victim.

What'd your ruling be?

Kind regards

 

[sullivan]

Remove Disease counters it? For me it quacks enough like a duck that I'd treat it like a duck.

 

[hong]

I'd say it's a disease for the purpose of disease immunity.

 

[Plane Sailing]

You could always irritate the monk and say it is a *magical* disease, so the paladin is OK but he gets encrusted

When this came up in my game I rules that the paladin was immune, the spores couldn't get a grip on him. I think in future I wouldn't have him immune but would allow him to use his remove disease power to kill it, since he otherwise doesn't get much call for that funky power.

Cheers

 

[sullivan]

You could always irritate the monk and say it is a *magical* disease, so the paladin is OK but he gets encrusted

When this came up in my game I rules that the paladin was immune, the spores couldn't get a grip on him. I think in future I wouldn't have him immune but would allow him to use his remove disease power to kill it, since he otherwise doesn't get much call for that funky power.

Cheers

He'd have plenty of call for it if he didn't adventure with Monks or would stop hogging the limelight at the front of the party.

 

[frankthedm]

Not a disease.

 

[silentspace]

I vote with frankthedm, not a disease

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I'd rule it's a disease. Monks and Paladins have few enough opportunities for their immunities to be relevent as it is. If it can be cured/fixed/destroyed/prevented by Remove Disease, that's good enough for me.

 

[ElectricDragon]

Would you also rule that Green Slime is a disease? It is destroyed by a Remove Disease spell.

I would say both are something disease-like that the spell can counter but the abilities cannot.

Just my two coppers.

Ciao
Dave

 

[Scharlata]

[...]Just my two coppers.

Thanx @all for your consideration.

Kind regards

P.S.: I tend to treat it as "not a disease", but still not sure....