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Avigor
2017-10-28, 07:18 PM
This is basically what I think the Cancer Mage (BoVD) should have been:

Plague carriers develop symbiosis with diseases of all sorts, and instead of the normal symptoms they suffer a hacking cough and rancid, oozing puss discharged from their very pores.

Plague carrier is an inherited or acquired template (can be acquired via a magical ritual mostly performed by clerics of evil gods of disease, as an accident of alchemical or magical experimentation, or as an extremely rare reaction to exposure to any of a multitude of exceptionally infectious and severe diseases) that can be added to any living, corporeal creature which is not already immune to disease.

A plague carrier uses all the base creature’s statistics and abilities except as noted here. Do not recalculate the creature’s abilities, Hit Dice, base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size and Type are unchanged.

Special Attacks
A plague carrier retains all the special attacks of the base creature and also gains the following special attacks.

Puss Contagion (Ex): A plague carrier can infect any creature exposed to the puss oozing from its body, causing the creature to become infected with all diseases carried. Any exposed creature must make a single Fortitude saving throw against initial infection against a DC of 10 + the plague carrier's Constitution modifier, with the DC increased by 5 if the subject is exposed via ingestion of the puss, application of the puss to an injury, or taking damage from a coated weapon (each such coating is only viable for a single weapon strike). Preparation of one dose of puss for application to any object (weapon, food, door handle, etc) takes 1 minute. Puss remains viable outside of the plague carrier's body for one minute per HD of the plague carrier. If the puss is mixed into food or drink, it gives it a strange aftertaste, and after the viable time period the food or drink becomes obviously rotten or stagnant. After initial infection, all individual diseases then handle their individual incubation times and saving throws separately as if infected via a more traditional vector.

Well Contagion (Ex): A plague carrier can, once per day, infect a well with his puss, leaving it ridden with all carried diseases until purified, only causing the water to taste a bit earthy. To use this ability, the plague carrier must have already consumed one day's worth of water, and this ability resets his water needs for the day as if he hadn't consumed any water at all. It takes 10 minutes, and if he is interrupted the first 1d10 per round before he was interrupted to drink from the well must make a Fortitude saving throw to resist infection against a DC of 10 + the plague carrier's Constitution modifier, and the use is still used for the day. If the attempt is completed, the infection has no limit to the number of potential victims and has an infection Fortitude saving throw DC of 15 + the plague carrier's Constitution modifier. After initial infection, all individual diseases then handle their individual incubation times and saving throws separately as if infected via a more traditional vector.

Airborne Contagion (Ex): Three times per day, a plague carrier can, as a full-round action, engage in a coughing fit that releases a cloud containing all of his carried diseases. In terms of size, duration, and dispersal, it functions as if a fog cloud using the plague carrier's HD as a caster level, except that it is transparent and undetectable except by its foul odor which can be detected by the Scent ability from 50 feet away and other creatures capable of smell who are within or adjacent to the cloud. Those who are within the cloud at any point during its duration must make a Fortitude saving throw against a DC of 10 + the plague carrier's Constitution modifier or be infected by the diseases; a success renders them immune to Airborne Contagion for 24 hours. After initial infection, all individual diseases then handle their individual incubation times and saving throws separately as if infected via a more traditional vector.

Special Qualities
A plague carrier retains all the special qualities of the base creature and also gains the following.


Plague Carrier: Immunity to all effects of all diseases, however the plague carrier can still be infected with new diseases and in fact is incapable of resisting acquiring a new disease if exposed and can never fight off any disease, even with the help of a Heal skill roll. Less contagious parasites that cannot be transmitted via bodily fluids are not effected by this.
A +5 bonus on saves vs poison or parasitic infections that don't count as contagious diseases for the purposes of the plague carrier ability.
Curative Weakness: If the plague carrier is effected by a cure disease spell or effect, one disease chosen randomly is violently removed from the plague carrier's body, causing it to be sickened (or nauseated if it was already sickened) for one minute, fatigued (or exhausted if it was already fatigued) for one hour, and suffer 2d4 nonlethal damage.
Must ingest half again as much water as normal every day, and takes a -5 penalty on saving throws against thirst or dessication on account of the constant fluid loss from the puss.
A horrible odor emanates from the plague carrier at all times, causing all NPC's to have an initial reaction of no better than unfriendly, possibly worse if they realize what the plague carrier is and the implications thereof. The only exceptions to this is those who worship evil deities of disease, who may instead react more positively than normal, and (rarely) healers who may wish to attempt to cure the affliction of cooperative plague carriers. Otherwise, creatures with the Scent special quality gain a +5 bonus to track plague carriers by smell, as well as on their spot or listen checks to locate plague carriers if they are hiding with the benefit of the Darkstalker feat.
A -5 penalty on Move Silently checks on account of regular coughing.
Loss of Template: The plague carrier loses this template and all properties thereof if they ever acquire traditional immunity to disease permanently or take the Willing Deformity (Parasites) feat; temporary or removable immunity merely suppresses all properties of this template while the immunity is in effect. Bonuses to saving throws vs disease, as well as effects that reduce ability damage or other effects of disease or delay a disease's onset, have no effect on a plague carrier. Immunity which allows one to function as a carrier (such as the Pestilence domain and levels in Cancer Mage) have no effect on this template. Completely curing all of a plague carrier's diseases only suppresses the effects of the template until the plague carrier contracts another disease at a later date.

Environment
Plague carriers are typically shunned by all other living creatures, or at the very least avoided as much as possible and viewed with suspicion.

Alignment
Mostly evil, especially those who sought to become plague carriers. Those who became such by accident or otherwise against their will can be of any alignment, albeit the deliberate infection of others (especially innocents) is generally regarded as evil.

Challenge Rating
As base creature.

Level Adjustment
Same as base creature.


Any thoughts? Did I manage to balance it properly for no LA adjustment?
EDIT: Added a couple limits to the Contagion abilities compared to first draft.
EDIT: Reworded and reworked the contagions, splitting well into its own ability, also slimmed the loss of template line a bit.
EDIT: Slight clarifications/ modifications to the cloud ability and added another loss of template condition.

rferries
2017-10-29, 10:49 AM
It's fine re: LA; the attacks are slow-acting and the special qualities are all balanced out. It might help to rewrite it though - God knows I churn out some wordy homebrew myself but it's always good to break things up into chunks. :)

Just as an example, you can reduce the Airborne Contagion to:

Airborne Contagion (Su)
A number of times per day equal to it's Constitution bonus (minimum 1/day), a Plague Carrier can enter a coughing fit to release a cloud of pestilence as a full-round action. This functions as fog cloud (caster level = Plague Carrier's Hit Dice), save that the effect is invisible, foul-smelling, and any creature exposed to it must make a Fortitude save or be affected as by contagion for a number of diseases equal to the Plague Carrier's Constitution bonus (minimum 1 disease), chosen from those it carries. A creature makes only one save against each such cloud, regardless of whether it succeeds or fails. The Fortitude save is Constitution-based and includes a -5 racial penalty.

This preserves your mechanics, but to simplify it further I'd remove the link between the Constitution bonus and the number of times/day & number of diseases (e.g. make it 1/day or 3/day, and make the cloud automatically produce all the carrier's diseases). I'd also remove the +5 bonus on the saves, to streamline it.

Avigor
2017-10-29, 05:50 PM
Okay, modified it a bit. Better, I hope? I don't want to use the term "invisible" as I could see RAW lawyers trying to pull stupid stuff like it obscures vision for those who can see the invisible.

rferries
2017-10-30, 05:24 AM
Okay, modified it a bit. Better, I hope? I don't want to use the term "invisible" as I could see RAW lawyers trying to pull stupid stuff like it obscures vision for those who can see the invisible.

Yep looks more streamlined. I apologise for the invisible thing, I thought I had read that in your original description.

A delightfully disgusting template, indeed!

cdax
2017-11-01, 01:53 AM
I like it. I want to use this as a template for a big bad. Very gross, but also perfect for the horror I want to infuse.

Avigor
2017-11-01, 10:36 AM
I like it. I want to use this as a template for a big bad. Very gross, but also perfect for the horror I want to infuse.

Go for it, I'd love to hear how it goes!