Disease, Templates, and Transmission (3.5e)

[smasher0404]

If you are playing in a campaign that involves hunting the Treatbringer, please do not read the below!



So I had a weird rulings question that I wanted to get sorted out before I finish building an NPC villain for my campaign, and I'm not sure if it is quite simple enough for the Simple Questions threads. Specifically, I am building a Wendigo (Fiend Folio pg 187) Werewolf and I have members of my party that aren't humanoid. I have a general understanding of what happens when this villain bites one of my humanoid players (I believe two fort saves are necessary, one to avoid the Curse of Lycanthropy, and the other to avoid the Wendigo Disease).

However, from what I can tell, the Wendigo's disease can infect creatures that don't have a type the template can be applied to (in this specific case an outsider). I think by RAW, the outsider CAN be affected by the disease, and that they'll take wisdom damage for each failed save. But, the disease says that if a character falls to 0 Wisdom they become a Wendigo. What happens if a non-humanoid character falls to 0 wisdom because of the disease? Does the Wendigo template just get applied anyways even though they aren't of an applicable type, or do they just fall comatose as per the default ruling for 0 Wisdom?

[Kelb_Panthera]

Whenever there are rules ambiguities like this you have to just make a judgement call. Personally, I'd rule that they still have to save against and try to fight off the disease but, as you note, they cannot beccome a wendigo because that template can't be applied to an outsider. As a result, 0 Wis renders them comatose until they can recover or until they starve.

That said, I'm guessing the outsider in question is either a tiefling or an aasimar. In which case, ruling that they're close enough to being humanoid that they can become a wendigo wouldn't necessarily be unreasonable since they're of likely humanoid parentage on at least one side and a creature of the prime material plane rather than a being of philosophical reality made flesh. I wouldn't complain too loudly if a GM made such a decision.

Btw, if "treatbringer" is not a typo, I'd really like some elaboration on what that means. What treats does he bring, for example?

[smasher0404]

Oh, my players recently fought an Unholy Scion Dire Wolf who freed a bunch of Wargs from a local goblin tribe. The Wargs refer to the Dire Wolf as the Treatbringer, because the Dire Wolf shared some dog treats with them after their liberation. The Dire Wolf, in turn, serves an unknown BBEG that gave him those treats.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Oh, my players recently fought an Unholy Scion Dire Wolf who freed a bunch of Wargs from a local goblin tribe. The Wargs refer to the Dire Wolf as the Treatbringer, because the Dire Wolf shared some dog treats with them after their liberation. The Dire Wolf, in turn, serves an unknown BBEG that gave him those treats.

:smallbiggrin: That made me laugh for a solid minute. They're evil, malevolent beasts of darkness and murder but they're still just doggos that want treats and belly rubs.

I don't know if that's what you were going for but that's what I got. :smallbiggrin:

[Thurbane]

Oh, my players recently fought an Unholy Scion Dire Wolf who freed a bunch of Wargs from a local goblin tribe. The Wargs refer to the Dire Wolf as the Treatbringer, because the Dire Wolf shared some dog treats with them after their liberation. The Dire Wolf, in turn, serves an unknown BBEG that gave him those treats.

That's some campaign gold, right there!