Has anybody worked up a disease system for dungeon crawling characters? Seems like there’s a lot of dank, unsanitary conditions down there, so disease is a plausible risk. Perhaps a set of triggers, or something in the rest system? It could also make a plague doctor mask useful.
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I did one for the sewers of Baldur’s Gate city long ago, but I don’t know how it works anymore. 
It’s a must have for any sewers. If anyone has already one, count me in also, cause I want this to.
It is still possible to do this using triggers with bad luck percentages. I can’t find my script for a reason that I don’t know, but I do know that the illness was also accompanied by a temporary drop in charisma after crossing the sewers (to simulate the stench).
Hi All,
Just some thoughts on the mater of diseases …
I think the premise behind the D&D disease rule is that the heroes are considered hardy enough to fight off most “normal” diseases. If the disease is supernatural or extraordinary in nature, then that is a different matter. The point being, these more intrusive diseases tend to have a more defined causal nature, normally as a result of a specific creature carrier or some other specific source. Therefore, a “random” disease system may be out of tune with the general understanding of them.
That said, I do see a DM could implement the diseases we already have available in some interesting ways. For instance, some environments (like sewers) may well have more risk of certain diseases associated with the creatures that live there. However, I think the builder would have to explain the “risk” in the narrative for the story environment to justify the presence of such. E.g. The sewers is infested with dire rats that have infected the areas to such an extent that even scratching oneself in such an environment gives the risk of disease. E.g. The Filth Sewers are so bad that one risks Filth Fever just entering them, or the more time spent down there. But then, even in this case, I think I would just leave contraction to an increased number of encounters with rat carriers.
We have the disease.2da, which I imagine we can add to. Our job, I believe, is to make better use of that listing as it currently stands, and perhaps have creatures that have contracted such diseases themselves to have a chance of transferring to the PCs in a combat if they are hit.
Finally, I do think a plot or story link to a disease is a reasonable inclusion, but then we are still back to how is it contracted? What caused it and what cures us from it? This is what I did for the “Curse of Lycanthropy”, which some may also consider a disease.
The bottom line being, if a disease is contracted by a hero, then I think it has to be worthy of some kind of story arc rather than simply being “caught” in a mundane/random manner.
Cheers, Lance.
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A stat check against the PC’s constitution should suffice. Constitutions with bonuses (12 and higher) should be the healthy characters who may be immune to normal diseases. No bonuses (10-11) would have an even chance. Below that, it means the character has a below normal health and difficulty fighting off illnesses.
Perhaps. But a dungeon stocked with all manner of nasty denizens brought there especially to kill adventurers seems like a sufficient justification. The nasty ichor of dead beasties coating various surfaces is difficult to avoid completely. Plus it’s another drain on player resources, and perhaps a reason to return to the surface.
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Hi,
That would be the special story premise and not the norm … which I agree may be a reasonable story arc. 
Cheers, Lance.