What spell(s) would you use to cure a birth defect?

[ZamielVanWeber]

I mean like a nasty birth defect, like tetralogy of fallot.

[Inevitability]

Polymorph Any Object, maybe Wish or Miracle. Reincarnate could work (personality issues aside) and Regeneration would most likely too.

[Necroticplague]

Last Breath. New body means the old defects don't matter. Might have some problems from suddenly being in a young adult body, but those can be worked out.

[ZamielVanWeber]

PAO would require constant recasting because of how fast a baby grows and they would die upon being hit by a dispel magic. I forgot regenerate exists(it is normally pretty bad) but would a malforned organ count as "ruined" given that the malformation is that particular organ's default shape? Or amI just overthinking it?

[Red Fel]

True Mind Switch.

[TypoNinja]

Regeneration, Restoration, possibly even cure light wounds.

No seriously, were curing genetic damage right?

[ZamielVanWeber]

True Mind Switch.

I laughed so hard.


Regeneration, Restoration, possibly even cure light wounds.

No seriously, were curing genetic damage right?
Bad luck in crossing-over does not qualify as genetic damage, but can still cause birth defects.

[Sileniy]

Would Iron Heart Surge help?

[(Un)Inspired]

The Necropolitan Ritual. Or just raise the kid as a slaymate.

[Curmudgeon]

Flesh to Stone, Make Whole, Stone to Flesh.

[Seclora]

Limited Wish would probably be able to fix most birth defects, as would any spell that would restore lost limbs or other damaged body parts. Depending on the exact effects of the condition, it might even be possible that a Heal would remove the defect.

For Blue-Baby Syndrome specifically though? Any spell that removed the need to breathe would probably fix the condition for the time being, since you're looking at fixing the oxygenation of the blood.

Of course, for the less moral solution, there is always the option of desanguinaztion. After all, a vampire does not need a fully functional heart, only enough blood to sate its thirst.

[Jeff the Green]

I know I'm in the minority, but remove disease. By the medical definition of disease (http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/disease), both birth defects and harmful genetic abnormalities are included.

[(Un)Inspired]

I know I'm in the minority, but remove disease. By the medical definition of disease (http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/disease), both birth defects and harmful genetic abnormalities are included.

Remove Disease is such a controversial spell.

[MesiDoomstalker]

I'd say, at the very least, Regenerate. However, depending on the exact nature of the abnormality, I'd say even a weaker [Healing] spell could work. Basically anything that is a result of a single base pair error I would argue Restoration, or Heal would do the trick. However, I don't think anything weaker than Restoration could cure such diseases.

[Uncle Pine]

I mean like a nasty birth defect, like tetralogy of fallot.

I'd say that Remove Disease does this pretty well. One could argue that unlucky crossing-over doesn't qualify as a disease, but it'd only mean that you'd have to fix the defective phenotype (which is definitely a disease) instead of the defective genotype.

[Sith_Happens]

Flesh to Stone, Make Whole, Break Enchantment.

FTFY, unless you're confident that Random Commoner with a Heart Defect can make a DC 15 Fortitude save.


Remove Disease is such a controversial spell.

Isn't that usually due to its well-documented abortifacient properties, though?:smalltongue:

[Curmudgeon]

FTFY, unless you're confident that Random Commoner with a Heart Defect can make a DC 15 Fortitude save.
After Make Whole, there shouldn't be any defect.

[Sith_Happens]

After Make Whole, there shouldn't be any defect.

Still, save-or-die versus guaranteed success.

[ace rooster]

I tend to think of the rules as presented as the subset of the rules that actually exist that are relevant for players. As such spells for these sort of issues exist in universe, but are not presented in any of the books. It is similar to how I consider there to exist rules for farming, including feats for farmers, despite them not actually appearing in print anywhere.

What complicates things is that we do not know what causes birth defects in universe. Real world medical mechanisms are unlikely to be at work in a world with magic, so I tend to reject any argument that goes that direction. In my games all disease is caused by latent necromancy (or overuse of magic), and so is always slightly 'supernatural' in effect. As such, health issues will often have a minimum caster and/or spell level to cure or suppress them, and sometimes an xp cost or strange material component. No catch all 'remove disease' in my games, though remove disease will function normally on pretty much all naturally occuring diseases in a young fit target. A newborn child is not a young fit target.

With the spontaneous birth defects occuring among the populace in a haunted region (high latent necromancy) I would probably use a 2nd level spell with an xp cost of 25. In a less harsh enviroment a birth defect in a newborn prince would probably be a far more powerful curse (though could just be bad luck), requiring more powerful magic to suppress it, and something very specific to cure it.

Hope this gives you some ideas, but as far as I am aware there are no rules in stone for birth defects. DM call. :smallsmile:

[atemu1234]

Mind Rape. What birth defect?

[Calimehter]

There is some precedent in the rules . . . after a fashion. DMG II has various oddball NPC templates, some of which are circumstantial but others are basically just accidents of birth just like a birth defect.

So if you consider the birth defect an inherited template, it makes the rules part of the question a bit easier to answer.

Bonus points if you can convince your DM to use the PHB II rules to allow you to "rebuild" your character and get rid of the defect template that way. ;)

[ericgrau]

Regeneration. Most aren't genetic. Genetics may contribute but no more than they do to the common cold. For those that are genetic, regeneration should work but you may need a wish or miracle to keep he condition from returning. For brain damage regeneration would restore normal basic mental function but to repair memories, motor skills and so on you may need a wish or miracle. Not as much of a concern on a newborn who hasn't developed these yet anyway.

[Curmudgeon]

Still, save-or-die versus guaranteed success.
It's not guaranteed success unless you can make the CL check on a rolled 1.
For each such effect, you make a caster level check (1d20 + caster level, maximum +15) against a DC of 11 + caster level of the effect. Success means that the creature is free of the spell, curse, or effect. Unlike Dispel Magic, you don't get to auto-succeed to end your own spells.

[holywhippet]

Wouldn't this come under DM fiat in a game? You can name a lot of spells that might be able to do the trick, but there are no specific rules on birth defects in D&D AFAIK so the answer could be any of them or none of them. I suppose you could argue it depends on whether the problem is genetic or if something went wrong during the pregnancy. A genetic problem arguably wouldn't be fixable using magic as the spells are intended to restore you to how nature intends you to be.

You could even argue it might take extreme measures like some of the flesh grafting tricks to replace the faulty body part.

[Zeofar]

It really depends on how you model it. You could look at it like Ability Drain, so Restoration would work, and you could include defects with more specific effects for simplicity. Or you could make the cure specific to how you model the effect.

[Sith_Happens]

It's not guaranteed success unless you can make the CL check on a rolled 1. Unlike Dispel Magic, you don't get to auto-succeed to end your own spells.

A failure on that roll doesn't kill the person whose health you're trying to improve, is my point.

[Curmudgeon]

A failure on that roll doesn't kill the person whose health you're trying to improve, is my point.
You can make that risk very low. If the birth defect character has 1 Cleric level with the Pride domain, they get to reroll a 1 on a saving throw. You could add a spell (Benediction from Complete Champion) and/or an infusion (Lucky Cape from Magic of Eberron) for more rerolls.

The whole point of using Stone to Flesh at the end is that there's nothing keeping Break Enchantment from undoing the instantaneous "fix" provided by Make Whole while the subject is turned into stone.
This spell frees victims from enchantments, transmutations, and curses. Break enchantment can reverse even an instantaneous effect. Make Whole is a Transmutation spell, just like Stone to Flesh.

Break Enchantment may indeed kill the person whose health you're trying to improve (by reversing the birth defect fix), is my point.

[Khatoblepas]

You can make that risk very low. If the birth defect character has 1 Cleric level with the Pride domain, they get to reroll a 1 on a saving throw. You could add a spell (Benediction from Complete Champion) and/or an infusion (Lucky Cape from Magic of Eberron) for more rerolls.

If we're curing birth defects, I assume we're doing them just after birth so that the child has a chance to grow into an adult, rather than once they're already an adult. I'm not sure babies can have cleric levels. Can the child last until they're 15+2d6?

[Curmudgeon]

If we're curing birth defects, I assume we're doing them just after birth so that the child has a chance to grow into an adult, rather than once they're already an adult. I'm not sure babies can have cleric levels. Can the child last until they're 15+2d6?
People can live to adulthood (though sickly) with birth defects, so I included that as a possibility. The spell and infusion to grant saving throw rerolls are more general solutions than the Clerical doman, of course.

[sideswipe]

if this is just about say a birth mark or scar on the skin from birth and not a wound, then there is no spell to fix it i believe, not intended anyway.

so .... prest?