Other effect choices for Bestow Curse

[MarkVIIIMarc]

That line about choosing an alternative effect has me loving this spell, but I can never think of any good alternative effects. Call it, "effect block" or an imagination block.

What all ideas do you have for alternative effects or have you seen used to good effects?

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You touch a creature, and that creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become cursed for the duration of the spell. When you cast this spell, choose the nature of the curse from the following options:


Choose one ability score. While cursed, the target has disadvantage on ability checks and saving throws made with that ability score.
While cursed, the target has disadvantage on attack rolls against you.
While cursed, the target must make a Wisdom saving throw at the start of each of its turns. If it fails, it wastes its action that turn doing nothing.
While the target is cursed, your attacks and spells deal an extra 1d8 necrotic damage to the target.

ARemove Curse spell ends this effect. At the DM’s option, you may choose an alternative curse effect, but it should be no more powerful than those described above. The DM has final say on such a curse’s effect.

[stoutstien]

You can't have children

The colour green makes you paranoid

If you knowing lie your noses grows an inch

You can only speak if you wiggle your fingers in the air.

You always feel like you are forgetting something

[micahaphone]

$Gender finds you repulsive for a reason they can't articulate
Food turns to ash in your mouth
Despite still benefiting from resting, you always feel tired and irritable, as though you got no sleep
Animals are attracted/repelled from you, inconveniently
Clumsiness, butterfingers, and other stumbles, always at the most inopportune time
Always feel too warm/sweaty, no matter the temperature or clothes you wear
Permanent cold-like symptoms. Or other disease like maladies
Your memory goes to ****. Face blindness, words on the tip of your tongue, early onset dementia.

[RipTide]

The effect only lasts for a minute so your best bet is duplicating other debuffs.

-Blindness so they have disadvantage on attack and you get advantage
-Hallucinations so they run around attacking nothing possible provoking opportunity attacks and wasting their turn
-Weakness reducing the damage they deal with all attacks
-ADD so they cant concentrate on casting spells
- every time they make an attack they have to move directly backwards, gets Opportunity attacks and prevents them form getting off multi attacks

outside of combat
-lack of confidence to get advantage on social checks, only really would work if you have subtle spell meta magic

Those are just some ideas.

[solidork]

Can't lie. Can't tell the truth. Can't speak.

[solidork]

The effect only lasts for a minute so your best bet is duplicating other debuffs.

-Blindness so they have disadvantage on attack and you get advantage
-Hallucinations so they run around attacking nothing possible provoking opportunity attacks and wasting their turn
-Weakness reducing the damage they deal with all attacks
-ADD so they cant concentrate on casting spells
- every time they make an attack they have to move directly backwards, gets Opportunity attacks and prevents them form getting off multi attacks

outside of combat
-lack of confidence to get advantage on social checks, only really would work if you have subtle spell meta magic

Those are just some ideas.

Bestow Curse has some of the most interesting upcast options. At 5th level it lasts for 8 hours with no concentration so you can get VERY creative/subtle with your effects.

[Spiritchaser]

You cannot pronounce the letters L or R in normal conversation, and if you cast a spell with a verbal component that has a to hit roll, that roll is at dissadvantage.
Your feet become painful if you stand in the same place for more than a few seconds.
You cannot rest if you sleep in the same bed for a second night in a row. Only really relevant for 9th level casting
You fear wearing your left shoe
You always feel like your tongue is too big for your mouth. Your speech is awkward and your foes have advantage on saving throws against spells you cast on them with verbal components.
You are afraid of the color blue (and try and avoid looking up on a clear day) any checks or saves involving awareness of things above on such a day are made at dissadvantage. You have dissadvantage hitting anyone dressed in blue.
You feel an unspeakable desire to eat humanoid flesh. Possibly with Chianti and fava beans.
You become allergic to soap

[da newt]

Double vision - 50% chance to attack the wrong one / no depth perception
Can't tell friend from foe
Amnesia
Speak in tongues / change known language to piglatin or gibberish
Tinnitus
Narcolepsy
Vertigo
Inability to clench hand / grip anything / believe their thumbs are missing
Uncontrollable Sneezing
Forget how to walk
Diarrhea and/or Nausea
feeling (and noise) of bugs crawling under your skin
terrible wedgie that you can't pick
OCD
Debilitating depression / phobia
Paranoia
Dementia
Believe they can fly
Think they are naked / exposed
pacifist

[Spiritchaser]

Narcolepsy


Ooooh, I love that o...

snoooork.

[micahaphone]

pacifist

Reminds me of a part of Out of the Abyss, where in a maze like series of caves you meet a gnoll affected by an indefinite madness that makes them cowardly and abhor violence. She's a very sad gnoll, the only pacifist gnoll in existance. She'll be a good guide to the maze if the party doesn't kill her /follow her requests for death. I look forward to my players stopping to console and give a pep talk to this poor gnoll

[Segev]

Change sex.
With the shorter durations, this is mainly a distraction; could be an excuse for the Disadvantage or Stat penalty (again, highly distracting, different body layout, etc.)
Replace primary language with one they didn't speak before
"You will never find a crowbar again."
Did this to another player in a game once due to the number of times the crowbar was the instrument of that character messing things up. Never told her IC; she just couldn't find one, ever. They were sold out, hers were lost, others' were lost when they tried to find one to loan her, etc.
In retrospect, wasn't the best move; the player took it personally and still is sore about it if it comes up.
Can't speak below a shout.
Comical voice
Deep bass for a woman, helium-voice or a mouse-squeak for a big brawny guy, frog's croak for a singer, etc.

[Imbalance]

May you only walk on difficult terrain.
For a flyer: the unpatched Skyrim curse - may you only fly backwards.

Income Tax: pay 200 gold or 10% of your assets.

You grow a tail on your forehead.

You suddenly possess a stone of sending that you can't get rid of. Someone will constantly try to reach you about your warranty.

You just remembered it's your significant other's birthday.

Every hair on your body immediately falls out except one. You know the one.

Your teeth itch.

You must declare your every action with anime panache.

You are denied comfortable seating.

Your back-face culling and anti-aliasing become wretched. Forget about 3rd person viewpoint.

You can't get the taste of burnt coffee and siracha out of your mouth.

All of your weapons are made by Nerf.

You won't wear metal armor.

There's a snake in your boot.

[Grey Watcher]

"You will never find a crowbar again."

Did this to another player in a game once due to the number of times the crowbar was the instrument of that character messing things up. Never told her IC; she just couldn't find one, ever. They were sold out, hers were lost, others' were lost when they tried to find one to loan her, etc.
In retrospect, wasn't the best move; the player took it personally and still is sore about it if it comes up.

Might work (mind you might ) if you, after maybe the third time, start giving them Intelligence checks (if they fail, next one is a lower DC, repeat until they succeed). Once they succeed, tell them that this is so wildly improbable that it seems suspicious. That way it'll hopefully read more like a proper plot hook than just "DM is being a jerk". (Not saying you were, but she probably thought so for a while, based on her reaction.)

[Segev]

Might work (mind you might ) if you, after maybe the third time, start giving them Intelligence checks (if they fail, next one is a lower DC, repeat until they succeed). Once they succeed, tell them that this is so wildly improbable that it seems suspicious. That way it'll hopefully read more like a proper plot hook than just "DM is being a jerk". (Not saying you were, but she probably thought so for a while, based on her reaction.)

Oh, the player knew what was going on OOC. I was another PC, who cast the curse, not the DM in this case. It's long over and done with; she just doesn't find the story amusing and gets annoyed when it's brought up, so it's a sore spot. Which tells me it was a bad idea, since it damaged her fun that badly.