Jinx! come up with minor flavor curses

[Kol Korran]

in a soon to be launched campaign, all the casters of a certain culture are called withces, and have a common class feature of jinxes- the ability to cast minor curses (equal in power to 1st level spells at most. approximately powerful enough to cause a -1 to a skill for 1 hour) who's main role is to add flavor for the witch, as well as acting as his/ her calling card.

some of my players are a bit confused about this, and asked for a possible list of Jinxes (the jinxes are specific per witch, they cannot be changed). so i thought to ask the forum. :smallbiggrin:

Sample ideas:
- hair turns green.
- you exchange your "p"s with "b"s.
- your voice turns high pitched
- your toes feel like rotting away, even if they are fine
- itching, itching
- you don't hear your name
- (local common animal, such as rat or rabbit) makes you very very antsy.
- you keep feeling you didn't do things, like close the door, forget the keys, leave the pot boiling.
- you smell like horse droppings

other ideas? :smallsmile: help me and my players curse each other! pretty please?

(search word: piratewitch)

[bungo_underhill]

Hiccoughs

Sneezing

OCD type compulsions - washing hands, counting specific items etc.

Colourblindness

acne

hungry

[Morph Bark]

Everything you eat tastes like very hot peppers.

[Acanous]

You become infertile for 24 hours (No effect if already pregnant)

[DefKab]

- you don't hear your name


I love this one...

[candycorn]

-1 to one skill for 1 hour.

-1 to all skills for 1 minute.

-4 to the next skill check target makes.

-1 AC for 1 hour.

-4 AC vs the next attack directed at you.

-1 to one save (chosen at time of casting) for 1 hour.

-1 to all saves for 1 minute.

-1 to melee or ranged (chosen at time of casting) for 1 hour.

-4 to the next attack you make.

Lose access to 1 randomly selected feat for 1 round.

This gives a variety of short term effects, which are about on par with the power of a first level spell. They can be fluffed a variety of ways.

-1 to diplomacy for an hour: curse is to occasionally speak a boorish phrase.
-1 to bluff for an hour: curse is to cough whenever you lie.
-1 to concentration for an hour: nagging reminders of things not done
-1 to ranged attacks: light trembling or blurry vision
-1 to melee attacks: sweaty palms.
-4 to one attack: unluck.

[eulmanis12]

For the next 3 days, every time sombody says the word "sword", you levetate 1m off the ground for 30 seconds

The effects of alcohol and poison on you switch for the next 3 days.

Every passage you read for the next hour becomes explosive runes for the next person to read it.

for 1 day you become vulnerable to holy water in the same way undead are.

for 3 hours you think that you have been the target of a gender changing spell, but you actually have not

[Lonely Tylenol]

Can't talk 'til I say your name or else you owe me a soda.

Particularly mean combination with "you don't hear your name". :smallbiggrin:

[DeusMortuusEst]

Your nose grows several centimeters in both length and width. (might give a -1 to CHA and a +1 to tracking things by scent.)

[Rejakor]

Every time time time you say a word beginning with 't' 't' 't' you have to to to repeat it three three three times times times. Or you take take take damage.

Any time you touch a living thing it really hurts and distracts you considerably.

Your skin emits something mildly poisonous to others.

You see twice as many of random objects/friends/enemies, but only one is real.

You become supersensitive to cold and heat and take major penalties from even mild heat or cold.

People keep forgetting that you're in the room/with them, and it's hard to get their attention.

Your shoelaces tie themselves together, your sword binds itself to it's sheath, your backpack seals itself etc etc.

Small items on your person are deposited on others' persons, and others' small items are deposited on your person (the kender curse).

[Andorax]

"Misfortune shall fall upon your shoulders as a tattered cloak, and follow wherever you walk."

Nothing bad happens to the PC, but anyone nearby suffers minor misfortunes and mishaps. Drinks get spilled, cuts and bruises from tripping and falling,

Eventually, the PC is driven to distraction by the general palor of doom and gloom that seems to be the case whenever he's around. It obviously gets worse if people start connecting their misfortunes to his presence.



If you want a SEVERE curse, take the above, and substitude "death" for "misfortune". Great way to get banned from every form of civilization in the whole of the land.

[Righteous Doggy]

Does it have to be bad? Nuetral curses can be flavourful too.
-Feathers fall behind you as you walk.
-You have fertile feet, grass grows where you walk.
-You fall in love with the first person you see
-You can speak with small woodland critters for a small time.

[Menteith]

As soon as I read this I immediately thought of Quelf (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/19370/quelf). I'll see if I can pull out some of the good ones out of there for this.

[Cieyrin]

effects of alcohol and poison on you switch for the next 3 days.

Alcohol is a poison, though...


Every passage you read for the next hour becomes explosive runes for the next person to read it.

That's...that's not a 1st level effect at all, that's like 5th! :smalleek:

Your skin changes to a strange color.

You become aquaphobic.

You forget how to open doors.

You become obsessed with a certain animal and fawn over them to the exclusion of everything else whenever encountered, regardless of the situation, for at least 1 round. ("Hello, Mr. Kitty! Did you know you're a kitty? Yes you are!")

Whenever you walk outside, you end up with bird feces on your head.

You skip everywhere.

You have to end all of your sentences with a certain word or become disoriented for 1 round. ("You got it, dood! What do you mean why do I end my sentences with some strange word, dood? I'm not doing that, dood!")

You compulsively add salt to everything you eat.

You can't sleep in a bed, for you feel like thousands of insects crawl all over you every time you try to fall asleep in one.

Your nose constantly runs, regardless of how often you blow it.

You're followed by a constant breeze, even indoors.

You always feel cold, regardless of the ambient temperature.

[Moginheden]

Tiny sparkels apear in the air behind you for a couple of seconds whenever you move - penalty to hide skill

Your clothes itch - DC 15 will save or be sickened, new save every 5 rounds untill you succeed.

You found waldo! - Every time you are in a crowd, you see a man with specticles wearing an oddly striped red and white jerkin and a floppy hat smiling at you. If you look directly at him he disapears. <-- this one is great for screwing with people. No combat penalty but can be great for role-play. You can also have "waldo" be a real person in the crowd that the victim of this curse can't see.

Demon magnet - You are Xander from Buffy the vampire slayer, all of your love intrests are evil, (and most of them want to eat you, or at least your soul.)

Butter Fingers - every time you try to use an item in combat, (including say a weapon or a holy symbol or a material component) you need to make a reflex save DC 10 or drop it.

[Moginheden]

compulsive skiny-dipper - every time you see a body of water large enough to swim in you must make a DC 12 will save or take off all of your clothes and jump in.

Walk with a limp - lose 10' of movement speed for one day

[Vegan Zombie]

How about losing the ability to tell the truth. Everything you say HAS to be a lie.

This pen is royal blue!

[Telonius]

For the next 4 hours, anything you speak or write must be in iambic pentameter. (Or haiku, if that's funnier for the character).

For the next 6 hours, any clothing you wear other than underwear will be completely translucent.

For the next 24 hours, every sentence you utter must contain a Spoonerism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoonerism).

For 4 hours, everyone around you will be hyper-sensitive to innuendo (with regards to you only). Anything you say that can possibly construed to be risque or a come-on, will be construed as such. (Note that this might not always be a bad thing).

[Vegan Zombie]

Also, you come down with a flu like sickness, but instead of puking vomit, you puke copper pieces or beer!

[ericgrau]

You smell strongly of fish making it difficult to stand within 10 feet of you.

Every time you hear the word "surrender", from friend or foe or total stranger, you shout at the top of your lungs "Death to the enemy!"

A chicken with regeneration 1, the ability to scry at will and who does not tire nor sleep follows you everywhere.

[Kol Korran]

thank you all for your participation, some excellent ideas out there!

the Jinx list will sure be... delicious! :smallbiggrin:

[nedz]

Everyone is talking about YOU. You mishear every comment for the next hour: you are the object of every sentence you hear.

You are invisible. You don't hear any sentence which is even vaguely about you, for one hour.

You must talk funny for the next hour. e.g. Lisp/Funny Accent/Odd Rhotisms

You cannot use verbs in your sentences for the next hour.

You cannot use nouns in your sentences for the next hour.

Temporary Inumeracy: you cannot use numbers for one hour.

[Zaq]

You must talk funny for the next hour. e.g. Lisp/Funny Accent/Odd Rhotisms

Oh god. A visit from the Accent Fairy can be . . . memorable.

Let's see, some others:

You are compelled to identify (by name, of course) the person to whom you are speaking in every sentence. ("John, have you seen any goblins around here? What about over there, John? Have you seen any goblins at all today, John? I think it's my turn to take watch, John. John, would you hand me my sword?")

You cannot stop weeping, though your emotions do not change. Whether this means actual sobs or merely endlessly running eyes depends on the strength of the jinxer.

You forget how to use pronouns.

You must refer to everyone by their full name. (Heaven help you if you have a gnome in the party.)

One—and only one—of your knees or elbows becomes unbearably warm, and you simply cannot feel comfortable unless it is uncovered. The other three become chilly, and you simply cannot feel comfortable unless they are covered.

Your perception of color is reversed, as though you were looking at a photo negative. For everything.

You temporarily change handedness. This is only a relatively minor setback . . . unless, for instance, the grip on your sword is worn down to comfortably fit your other hand. Welcome to the world of wrong-handed tools.

You lose the ability to sleep peacefully without a light at least as big as a torch within arm's reach.

Some of these have obvious mechanical implications, and some do not. I'm sure you can tweak them to have whatever mechanical implications you desire, though.


Every time time time you say a word beginning with 't' 't' 't' you have to to to repeat it three three three times times times. Or you take take take damage.


I'm keeping this one for the next time I play Hex Hex.

[GoatBoy]

Every word you write comes out in Abyssal (doesn't affect scrolls and such).

Your laugh becomes maniacal, even the slightest bit of humour results in you cackling loudly.

All food you eat tastes like manure.

Every magic item you use emits a foul odour.

You develop a rash when you are the target of beneficial magic.

Your skin turns an oily black colour when exposed to sunlight and for a few minutes after exposure.

Your shadow moves slightly out of sync with you, and occasionally moves on its own.

Every time you hear your own name, you sneeze.

[Fitz10019]

Goofy

You can't remember or use first names. You can't follow a conversation unless everyone uses last names. If a person has just one name, it must be used with a title (Mr., Ms., Dr., Sir, Dame, His Majesty, Her Grumpiness, etc.)

You lose your sense of personal boundaries. When not in combat, you always stand too close to whomever you are speaking to (DC12 Will save to realize this, and stop yourself).

You prune compulsively. You need 1 hour each morning to do your hair (like a spellcaster prepping, but may not overlap with it), else you have a -2 attack penalty and a -5 skill penalty to Concentration, Search, Spot and Listen checks until you prune.

You have a cloud of road dust that follows you around (like Peanuts' Pigpen). This gives a -5 skill penalty to Perform checks and to Diplomacy checks to discussions with nobility or other snooty people. A proper bath, with enough water to immerse yourself, gives you a 1 hour reprieve.

Your shadow is 45 degrees off, and makes rude gestures when you speak to new acquaintances (DC 12 for the new acquaintances to Spot).

You have a 5% chance of tripping everytime you go through a doorway. This chance increases proportionally with speed over 30ft (Haste will result in 10% chance). Tripping leaves you prone in the first square beyond the door. It is possible to be prone 'under' an ally, but not an enemy.

Spell-based (CL = witch's HD, I suggest)

Pain tickles. Any physical attack that takes more than 20% of your normal total hit points has the effect of Tasha's Hideous Laughter (with the usual save). (Does not apply to damage resulting from spells.)

When you attempt to Hide, there is a 5% chance of a Dancing Lights effect 5 ft above your head. Or Faerie Fire for a woodsy theme.

When you attempt to Move Silently, there is a 5% chance of a Ghost Sounds effect, a squawking bird, or cackling laughter.

When you make a Balance check, there is a 5% chance of a Grease effect in your current square.

When you sleep, it is Sleep. It takes a standard action of contact to wake you -- noise does not wake you.

When you sleep more than 2 hours, there is a 5% chance of an Obscuring Mist centered on you.

When you sleep more than 2 hours, there is a 5% chance of an Animate Rope effect in a 20ft radius around you. All ropes untie, move to you and coil, like cuddling pet snakes.

When you sleep more than 2 hours, there is a 5% chance of Speak with Animals effect on your snoring. A specific animal type approaches to answer your greeting.

When you read something, there is a 5% chance of an Erase effect.

When you are aroused, there is a 5% chance of a Reduce Person effect.

[Benly]

Every time you gamble, you lose. Not every time you take a risk, but games of chance always end up turning against you.

Any fruit you try to eat will turn bitter. Any drink you take will be sour.

There is always sand in your bed, or there is always a pebble in your shoe.

Any blade you carry will be dull before the day is out.

When something bad happens and people don't know what or who to blame, they will habitually blame you first.

You frequently sound like you're telling a lie badly when you're telling the truth. Alternately, you always sound sarcastic, or confrontational.

Any clothes you wear will have a hole before the day is over. As a side effect, your armor needs thorough nightly maintenance.

[Fitz10019]

Every time you gamble, you lose. Not every time you take a risk, but games of chance always end up turning against you.

That's very exploitable, as you can make 5 bets, 1gp each, on these 5 horses to win a race, and the rest of your party can each bet 1000gp on the 6th horse to win.

[Benly]

That's very exploitable, as you can make 5 bets, 1gp each, on these 5 horses to win a race, and the rest of your party can each bet 1000gp on the 6th horse to win.

Fortunately, it's a magical curse and not a computer program. Since losing the 1000GP each from your party is what you'd consider the worst outcome, you get your 1 GP back and get to explain to your party how exactly you were going to totally make a fortune off this curse. "Games of chance always turn against you" is broader than just "you always get the bad card", after all.