3.5 Dragon Illnesses?

[Chester]

Hello.

Regarding an idea I had for an upcoming adventure:

A silver dragon (or some good metallic dragon) has taken up residence in a ruined monastery outside of town; it claims it wants to "purify" a perceived evil in the monastery and in the surrounding area, including the town itself.

Party is asked to "convince the dragon to leave."

The twist is that the dragon has some illness. Maybe a fungus that affects its brain? A parasite? Some virus? I don't know. I could come up with my own illness and a cure, but I'd like to start by using something that's in a rule book somewhere.

Does anyone know of anything like that which could affect the mind of a dragon? (I don't want it to be a magical thing).

[Draconium]

There are the Dragon Psychosis templates from Dragon Magazine #313. They can really change the mentality of a dragon, though I don't know if they'll twist it quite in the way you're looking for.

[Chester]

It's a start. Thanks.

[DrMotives]

For sheer wordplay, the dragon should have a nasty case of wyrm worms.

[Draconium]

For sheer wordplay, the dragon should have a nasty case of wyrm worms.

I don't know whether to laugh or facepalm. So I'll do both.

[Cruiser1]

The twist is that the dragon has some illness. Maybe a fungus that affects its brain? A parasite? Some virus? I don't know. I could come up with my own illness and a cure, but I'd like to start by using something that's in a rule book somewhere.
The WotC free adventure "War of Dragons" features a good Gold Dragon with an illness, causing her to attack the PC's and think the PC's are evil until she gets healed: http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20040227a

[Chester]

For sheer wordplay, the dragon should have a nasty case of wyrm worms.

My drink just came out my nose.


The WotC free adventure "War of Dragons" features a good Gold Dragon with an illness, causing her to attack the PC's and think the PC's are evil until she gets healed: http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20040227a

Looks good so far...I'll download and take a closer look!

[The Viscount]

Dragons of Faerun has Dracorage, which causes even good dragons to rampage.

[Bullet06320]

The WotC free adventure "War of Dragons" features a good Gold Dragon with an illness, causing her to attack the PC's and think the PC's are evil until she gets healed: http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20040227a

the link in the article is broken, but here is a good link to the pdf http://electronicsandbooks.com/eab1/manual/Game/Role%20Play/Dungeons%20and%20Dragons/Adventures/3.5E%20D&D%20-%20Adventure%2018%20-%20War%20of%20Dragons%20c20040120%20[17].pdf

[daremetoidareyo]

Fiend folio has the mind leech, and no rules, per se, about how many can fit in a single head... And chances are that they would try to use the brain to cast dominate on the other leeches in the head, so at any given point, the leeches are in a perpetual civil war over the use of the dragon's head. They use his brain to telepathically communicate to each other. Give each mind leech a personality from a favorite sitcom and imagine how they would chatter about how to use a dragon's body to help propagate more mind leeches.

[Chester]

the link in the article is broken, but here is a good link to the pdf http://electronicsandbooks.com/eab1/manual/Game/Role%20Play/Dungeons%20and%20Dragons/Adventures/3.5E%20D&D%20-%20Adventure%2018%20-%20War%20of%20Dragons%20c20040120%20[17].pdf

That appears to be broken as well.

[Jowgen]

Since it was published for free, should be no harm in me quoting the disease in question, right?


WYRM FEVER
A disease originating in dank swamps, this malady affects only dragons. It is delivered by injury, and the DC for the Fortitude save to resist it is 30. After an incubation period of 1d4 days, it deals 1d8 Str, 1d8 Int, and 1d8 Con every day that the save is failed. The wounds by which the dragon acquired the disease become infected and ooze a sickly green pus. The high fever resulting from the malady causes the affected dragon to hallucinate, seeing enemies everywhere, mistaking friends for foes, and
the like.

[Bullet06320]

That appears to be broken as well.

it takes a min or two to load, but I checked it before posting

[Inevitability]

Fiend folio has the mind leech, and no rules, per se, about how many can fit in a single head... And chances are that they would try to use the brain to cast dominate on the other leeches in the head, so at any given point, the leeches are in a perpetual civil war over the use of the dragon's head. They use his brain to telepathically communicate to each other. Give each mind leech a personality from a favorite sitcom and imagine how they would chatter about how to use a dragon's body to help propagate more mind leeches.

This is... words can't describe how great this is. Mind if I steal it for my own campaign?

[atemu1234]

it takes a min or two to load, but I checked it before posting

It's not showing up for me.

[daremetoidareyo]

This is... words can't describe how great this is. Mind if I steal it for my own campaign?

Anyone can steal anything I ever write. It's freely given.

[Telonius]

Well, it's not in a published D&D book (it pre-dates D&D, in fact) but:

Malagolintomontorosis

First, you break out into spots, followed by hot and cold flashes, then violent sneezing.

Recovery time: A few weeks bed rest; plenty of sunshine.

Note: also affects purple dragons.

[Bullet06320]

apparently the link is now broken, it wasn't when I posted it, that's real strange

http://electronicsandbooks.com/eab1/manual/Game/Role%20Play/Dungeons%20and%20Dragons/Adventures/3.5E%20D&D%20-%20Adventure%2018%20-%20War%20of%20Dragons%20c20040120%20[17].pdf

try this one, It mustve corrupted when I copy pasted it

[Mr Adventurer]

You could also go for demonic possession

[atemu1234]

You could also go for demonic possession

That showed up in BoVD once. Substitute a corrupter demon and a good dragon, you have an excellent mission.

[Ungoded]

Malagolintomontorosis

Nice. plus characters

[Ayrynthyn]

Well, it's not in a published D&D book (it pre-dates D&D, in fact) but:

Malagolintomontorosis

First, you break out into spots, followed by hot and cold flashes, then violent sneezing.

Recovery time: A few weeks bed rest; plenty of sunshine.

Note: also affects purple dragons.

Christmas 1964 to be exact if the trivia card at the restaurant yesterday was in fact correct. Love this by the way.

... Non magical screamed some form of monsterous cause for me. I thought that the first edition book worms (MMII) did something like this, but they just ate your spell books and scrolls. Some form of mold or fungus maybe if not a homebrew'd mind maggot (couldn't find a mind leech in my findish folio) ... Its a great idea, i wouldn't hesitate to drum up a stat block on your own, if you can't find something.

[Chester]

Fiend folio has the mind leech, and no rules, per se, about how many can fit in a single head...

Fantastic idea. I'm not seeing mind leeches in the FF, though.


That showed up in BoVD once. Substitute a corrupter demon and a good dragon, you have an excellent mission.

Good idea as well.


Some form of mold or fungus maybe if not a homebrew'd mind maggot (couldn't find a mind leech in my findish folio) ... Its a great idea, i wouldn't hesitate to drum up a stat block on your own, if you can't find something.

Also something like what I was thinking. Any ideas of which type of fungus to use as a base creature?

[daremetoidareyo]

Fantastic idea. I'm not seeing mind leeches in the FF, though.


Its on page 217 under the grafts and symbionts chapter

[Chester]

Its on page 217 under the grafts and symbionts chapter

Thank you. I've got my premise now:

Party is invited to join a guild of good reputation; the guild is headed by a young/juvenile silver dragon.

However, when the party meets with the guild, they learn that the dragon has not been seen for some time. Party may find she is actually hiding in the ruins of an ancient monastery, claiming that all evil in the area needs to be "purged"--and all living beings within the nearby city will be purged with it.

Party must either kill her, or discover she's host to a malicious mind leech or two.

Question, then: 1) where did they come from? 2) How to remove them without killing the host, if possible?

[daremetoidareyo]

Thank you. I've got my premise now:

Party is invited to join a guild of good reputation; the guild is headed by a young/juvenile silver dragon.

However, when the party meets with the guild, they learn that the dragon has not been seen for some time. Party may find she is actually hiding in the ruins of an ancient monastery, claiming that all evil in the area needs to be "purged"--and all living beings within the nearby city will be purged with it.

Party must either kill her, or discover she's host to a malicious mind leech or two.

Question, then: 1) where did they come from? 2) How to remove them without killing the host, if possible?

If the weird behavior is linked to there being a single dragon and more than one mind leech, the PCs can bargain with the mind leeches (or get dominated) to be hosts. They just need to devise a way to decide which mind leech leaves the powerful dragon, and which gets to keep it.


I, personally, like my mind leeches to be spawned by drow occultists trying to find a way to repay the mindflayers in pain for all the slavery BS they pull. They catch mindflayers and cast a series of binding rituals that they learned from an aboleth to reduce and mutate the essence of the mindflayer into something remarkably weaker and narratively similar to their role in the world.

I'm just typing off the top of my here, but you could then follow that with this: Unfortunately for the Drow, Mind flayers are just so creepy that sometimes in periods of great famine, they elect one of their own to be caught by the drow for this ritual. Who is then teleported to the upperworld to attract more brains down below by taking people over, helping them accumulate money, which they then use to fund expeditions into the underdark for "long lost forgotten tomes of significant importance" of which there are none.