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Friday 20 March 2020

d6 Early Symptoms and Terrible Complications

This post was born as an effort to make diseases more interesting, like I wanted to do with creatures. Random symptoms, common cure, guess between the diseases you know have those symptoms to guess the right cure.
Between the forced quarantine, overbearing workloads and a general sense of tiredness, writing "d20 cures to your just-deadly-enough disease" didn't feel too appropriate.

The spirit is nothing more than twitching, trembling meat.
The Town on Gorkon from Pathologic 2.

The Eastern Plague Has Arrived in the Town on the Tiber

Roll 1d6 every month to unleash an ever changing Plague upon your games.

1. A Mouthful of Ash
A cough, ever present, dry as picked bones. Sooth in the back of your throat, breeding with itself like waterless fungi. Just over a week, and the sooth starts to become sand, that stops you cold for a few instants each time you cough, leaving your throat like a dead desert. The simple act of breathing becomes an hardship. Air turns to dust until lungs become abandoned pyramids, stony monuments in remembrance of Death. After 1d8 days from the first symptoms, lose 1d4 point of Brawn per day. After another 1d8 day, Save or be Paralyzed for 24 hours each day.

2. The Red Masque of Flesh
Starts as a slight irritation, an itch just underneath the outermost layer of your body. Scratch, scratch, scratch until bare flesh is visible, and then scratch again. It's always just underneath the place you can reach. Touching anywhere spreads it. Wooden towers loose just an handful of sawdust every day, until they are no more; your friends' handshakes become rattling of bones; your wives' kisses become a meeting of minced meat. After 1 day from the first symptoms, lose 1 of EVERYTHING each day.

3. A Frailty of the Blood
At first, small cuts take longer to heal; little cracks on your hand, where the cold crepts up to bones, pop up and the bleeding from them seems to be just a little too much than expected. After a while, wounds stop healing but they never stop bleeding, and the blood seems to get thinner and thinner and thinner and thinner, until only unending water comes out of every pore of your drained, battered self. The water brought it. The water is taking itself back. After 1d4 days from the first symptoms, you don't heal from just resting anymore. After another 1d4 day, you get a new Affliction every day.

My body won't let me forget it.
Worm dialogue from Pathologic 2.
4. Join Us
Silent whispers in the back of your skull suggest where we are headed. We, not you. You are one of many. Hints at first, voiceless hints that have always been there, maybe. An infectious though spreading through the community itself. The community is the purpose of the one. You might just crave companionship at first, but Many will be One sooner or later. After 1d6 days from the first symptoms, you crave companionship, and must make a Smarts save to resist to urge to go to the nearest meeting places. After another 1d6 days, you feel as if you are an extension of the community itself, you must spend your time with others, and you must make a Smarts save to take any action against the community.

5. The Cancerous Rocks
Small, hard bumps of flesh. Muscle that doesn't respond. Muscle that is stony, hungry and tired. Muscle that isn't muscle. Minuscule, black spores in heavy clouds that make breathing impossible, and that deposit themselves on the skin. Where they land, they grow, becoming part of the host and eating it. Scabs on the walls. Bumps on the skin. After 1d8 days, lose 1d4 points of Finesse every day, and halve your movement speed as the hard, black spots on your muscle grow in size and slothfulness.

6. The Play is Man
Outbreaks of humanity, like flowers in the sun. Small, voracious for all, ever growing, ever taller, eating space for themselves. Hollow, to be filled by that which is outside. Such is a man: a miserable little pile of emptiness. Hunger, greed, lust. After 1d4 days, you consume twice as much and must make a Brawn saving throw to avoid stealing from others and hoarding. After another 1d8 days, you consume thrice as much.

I might take them one by one, I might them all at once.
The Executors from Pathologic 2.

What is What

BRAWN: Constitution and Strength.
FINESSE: Dexterity and Intelligence.
SMARTS: Charisma and Wisdom.
INJURIES: 2d6 Damage.
AFFLICTIONS: 1d4 Damage.


Stay safe. Please.

5 comments:

  1. These are really intense and interesting.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I'm not 100% satisfied with my writing, but I wrote everything real quick so I guess it could have been worse

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  2. Lovely prose and very inspiring. Hope you're staying safe and well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! As of today, everyone is well here (maybe a bit psychotic, but that's not news :D)

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