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The Vorpal Tribble
2007-10-02, 07:08 PM
Black Plague
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Clr 9, Drd 9
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Living creature touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

The subject contracts a horrible disease, which strikes immediately (no incubation period). The subject takes 1d6 points of Constitution damage per day. Each day he must attempt another save or take another 1d6 points of Constitution damage. Unlike normal diseases, this plague continues until the victim reaches Constitution 0 (and dies).

What is truly horrendous about this disease is that it spreads like wildfire. Anyone who touches, or is touched, by the subject, must make a save themselves or gain the plague (DC = 10 + half subject's HD + Con mod, minimum DC 10 and maximum DC cannot exceed original DC of the spell). These secondary subjects can now spread the plague and so on and so forth.

Those who successfully save against the black plague gain immunity to all further exposures of the black plague for a number of days equal to their constitution modifier. There is a 1% chance that those that make the save become carriers for as long as they have immunity.

The plague is a powerful curse, not a natural disease. Anyone attempting to cast any conjuration (healing) spell on a creature afflicted with the plague must succeed on an opposed caster level check against the original caster, or the spell has no effect on the afflicted character.

To eliminate the plague, the curse must first be broken with break enchantment or remove curse (requiring an opposed caster level check for either spell), after which a caster level check is no longer necessary to cast healing spells on the victim, and the plague can be magically cured as any normal disease.

An afflicted creature who dies of the plague is still a carrier. Unless the body is disposed of through burning, burial, or some other method, anyone who touches the corpse, or breathes the air within 5 feet of it, must make a DC 10 fortitude save. The corpse remains contagious for 1d4 days.

BisectedBrioche
2007-10-02, 07:09 PM
Did I just hear the words "Corrupted Blood" on the wind?

The Vorpal Tribble
2007-10-02, 07:15 PM
Did I just hear the words "Corrupted Blood" on the wind?
Gonna have to elaborate on that'un.

Collin152
2007-10-02, 07:19 PM
Mmm. Yet another tribblicious addition to my collection, nd an excellent way to wipe out an unwanted civilization, as simple as it may be for such a mighty spellcaster.

SilverClawShift
2007-10-02, 07:48 PM
So would a cancer mage inflicted with this basically be the grim reaper? Or does the power of the spell trumps his class feature?

Collin152
2007-10-02, 07:58 PM
Hm... come to think of it, with this you could easily conquer a nation, or at least their army.
World Domination: Tribble style!

Mewtarthio
2007-10-02, 08:47 PM
So would a cancer mage inflicted with this basically be the grim reaper? Or does the power of the spell trumps his class feature?

Well, the spell is described as a curse that mimics disease.

Wouldn't the Plague spread right back to the caster? He is touching the subject at the time of casting.

The Vorpal Tribble
2007-10-02, 09:02 PM
So would a cancer mage inflicted with this basically be the grim reaper? Or does the power of the spell trumps his class feature?
Don't recall what that feature does.



Wouldn't the Plague spread right back to the caster? He is touching the subject at the time of casting.
He is touching at the time of casting. Once casting is over he is no longer touching. He would not be infected before he has finished casting.

FireSpark
2007-10-02, 09:15 PM
Don't recall what that feature does.


From Book of Vile Darkness



Disease Host (Ex): At 1st level, a cancer mage suffers no
ill effects of diseases, except for purely cosmetic ones such
as boils, pockmarks, watery eyes, blackened skin, hair loss,
foul smell, and so on. The cancer mage becomes a carrier of
every disease he encounters, though he remains immune to
most of their effects.
However, the cancer mage takes 1d6 points of damage
per caster level if someone casts a cure disease spell or effect
on him (he can make a Fortitude save to try to resist the
effect).

That's all the pertinent information there is. The text doesn't specify that the ability does not work against magical diseases, so I would say that a Cancer Mage could potentially become death itself if exposed to this magic. Thankfully he couldn't do it himself, since the Cancer Mage PrC is a 10-level class that actually has nothing to do with magic at all. No caster progression, no magic prereq's, nothing. Rather silly name for it actually.

Collin152
2007-10-02, 10:13 PM
From Book of Vile Darkness



That's all the pertinent information there is. The text doesn't specify that the ability does not work against magical diseases, so I would say that a Cancer Mage could potentially become death itself if exposed to this magic. Thankfully he couldn't do it himself, since the Cancer Mage PrC is a 10-level class that actually has nothing to do with magic at all. No caster progression, no magic prereq's, nothing. Rather silly name for it actually.

From what I understnad from what you ust quoted, yes he could, just take no more than three levels of cancer mage, the rest wizard.

Icewalker
2007-10-02, 10:31 PM
Oooooh thats just not nice.


I believe corrupted blood is a reference to a minor bug that lead to...well, a plague, on several servers in World of Warcraft. There is a boss, Hakkar the Blood God, who has a spell, corrupted blood. Anybody he casts in on spreads it automatically to nearby people, it does some pretty nasty damage. Apparently, a hunter got corrupted blood onto his pet, dismissed it, then resummoned it inside of some area with NPCs, which spread it to all other players in the immediate vicinity, as well as the NPCs. Due to a bug, the NPCs caught and spread the effect without being killed by it themselves, thereby turning into little markers of death for anybody to wander by. I think. I only have like third-hand knowledge of the events myself.

In fact, here you go (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrupted_Blood)

BisectedBrioche
2007-10-03, 02:11 AM
It was quite an interesting little episode really. A lot of researchers are interested in gaining statistics for it because its so similar to real life epidemics (including reactions and the methods employed to deal with it). In fact the only real differences were that;


You can't change the symptoms of an illness (but WoW is just a patch away from changing just about every status effect in the game).
Corrupted Blood could only really be spread deliberatly (or at least its hard to spread by mistake).

Xeran
2007-10-03, 02:34 AM
This really seems a bit overpowered to me, even for a 9th level spell. Sounds more like an epic spell to me. If I was going to weaken it to make it more like a 9th level spell, I would say that the entire curse ends 1 day/level after it was cast, after that infecting no more people but continuing to cause damage to the ones already infected. Just my humble opinion though.
-Xeran

Mewtarthio
2007-10-03, 09:43 AM
This really seems a bit overpowered to me, even for a 9th level spell. Sounds more like an epic spell to me. If I was going to weaken it to make it more like a 9th level spell, I would say that the entire curse ends 1 day/level after it was cast, after that infecting no more people but continuing to cause damage to the ones already infected. Just my humble opinion though.
-Xeran

It would be overpowered if the disease had the same save DC for everyone (that is, the 19 + your ability mod + whatever DC modifiers you have). As it is, the DC is based on the carrier rather than the caster, so a guy who touches an infected generic first-level commoner only has to make a DC 10 saving throw. Granted, it's possible to get pretty ridiculous DCs with powerful monsters, but that trick comes with its own problems: An infected Tarrasque has a disease with a DC 46 saving throw, but that requires you to somehow infect the Tarrasque in the first place and then to get it to spread the disease (those who come in physical contact with the Tarrasque tend to die, while those who survive usually have access to remove curse and healing spells).

That being said, the DC probably should be capped somehow, say the DC is never allowed to exceed the initial DC that started the plague (the DC of the spell itself). As a side note, what's the point of casting remove curse? It seems like you have to succeed on a caster level check in order to bypass future caster level checks.

Xeran
2007-10-03, 09:54 AM
It is still damn powerful. As several others have stated this thing could take out whole nations, and it is only a 9th level spell. Something that can wipe out an entire civilization deserves to be a bit more powerful then Power Word Kill, which while nice, can hardly alter reality in the way this spell would.

The Vorpal Tribble
2007-10-03, 10:38 AM
That being said, the DC probably should be capped somehow, say the DC is never allowed to exceed the initial DC that started the plague (the DC of the spell itself).
Thats a good idea, have adjusted.


As a side note, what's the point of casting remove curse? It seems like you have to succeed on a caster level check in order to bypass future caster level checks.
Heh, that little section is actually based after Mummy Rot.

Basically the way I read it is that you can cure it in the following steps.

#1. Cast Break Enchantment or Remove Curse. You must make an opposed caster level check against the original caster.

#2. If successful you can now heal the disease with normal disease-getting-rid-of spells and need not make any further caster level checks.


It is still damn powerful. As several others have stated this thing could take out whole nations, and it is only a 9th level spell. Something that can wipe out an entire civilization deserves to be a bit more powerful then Power Word Kill, which while nice, can hardly alter reality in the way this spell would.
How about if I make it so that anyone who makes the save becomes temporarily immune to the disease for a time?

Edit: Adjusted to the above.

Behold_the_Void
2007-10-03, 02:05 PM
If you pass the initial save vs. infection, is the entire spell negated? Or is it simply "you passed for today" and the spell itself really is a no-save for initial infection?

Xenoti
2007-10-03, 02:28 PM
I love this spell! It's wicked!

And i can only imagine a epic level version of this