Disease - An Index and Analysis

[SirNibbles]

The purpose of this thread is to explain how diseases work, provide a comprehensive list of diseases, and discuss the transmission of diseases, especially after infection. This thread is generally intended to be of aid to DMs. Therefore, the use of disease as a weapon by PCs and causing/curing/preventing diseases with various items/spells/class abilities are beyond the scope of this thread and will generally not be covered in any great detail. Additionally, effects that are ‘like diseases’ but are not actually diseases, as well as fluff diseases that do not have any stats provided, will not be included.

NOTE: As of February 2024, the index post has reached the forum character limit and I am unable to expand the list further in a format that I would find satisfactory. I intend to set aside time in the next few months to expand the list with additions from Dungeon Magazine (and, time-permitting, third-party sources including Dragonlance and Sword & Sorcery). At that time, I will remake and reformat the index. Additionally, I plan to offer more guidance on the use of disease by characters - both players and NPCs - by exploring classes, spells, magic items, and more.

Table of Contents:
1. The Basic Rules of Disease
2. An Index of Disease
3. The Spread of Disease and Gameplay Implications
4. Integrating Disease into Your Game

The Basic Rules of Disease




When you’re exposed to a disease, you must make an immediate Fortitude saving throw against a DC specified in the disease’s description. If the save succeeds, you didn’t catch the disease, and it has no effect. If the save fails, you begin to take damage after an incubation period detailed in the disease’s description. Once per day afterward, you must succeed on a Fortitude saving throw to avoid the disease’s damage. Two successful saving throws in a row indicate that you have fought off the disease. You recover, taking no more damage.

Rules Compendium, page 46





…he must make an immediate Fortitude saving throw. If he succeeds, the disease has no effect—his immune system fought off the infection. If he fails, he takes damage after an incubation period.


Dungeon Master’s Guide, page 292


1. Exposed to disease. Immediately roll a Fortitude saving throw. If you fail your saving throw, you are infected. The disease has no effect whatsoever during the incubation period unless stated otherwise.
2. At the end of the incubation period, you immediately take damage listed in the disease description with no saving throw. You are also subject to any other effects of the disease. For example, a creature infected with Contamination cannot recover HP by any means until cured.
3. Every 24 hours after you take initial damage, you must roll another Fortitude saving throw or take damage again. If you make your save, you take no damage. If you make two saves in a row, you recover from the disease completely. Some diseases require more or fewer saves to recover, and some do not allow you to recover at all by making saves- successful saves simply prevent you from taking damage for that day.

Types of Transmission

The DMG and Rules Compendium both list four basic methods of disease transmission/exposure:




DISEASE TYPES
Diseases are divided into four types, according to the method by which their effect is delivered.

Contact
Touching something containing this type of disease necessitates a saving throw. A weapon attack or a touch attack can also deliver it. (In this respect, a contact disease is the same as an injury disease.) Even if a creature has sufficient damage reduction to avoid taking any damage from the attack, the disease can still affect it.

Ingested
Ingested disease must be consumed, usually as part of contaminated food or water. Most ingested diseases can also be inhaled.

Inhaled
Inhaled diseases are airborne in an area. Holding one’s breath is ineffective against inhaled diseases; they affect the nasal membranes, tear ducts, and other parts of the body. Most inhaled diseases can also be ingested.

Injury
This type of disease must be delivered through a wound, which can be as small as a fleabite. If a creature has sufficient damage reduction to avoid taking any damage from the attack, the disease doesn’t affect it.


Rules Compendium, page 46


Some diseases can be transmitted by more than one method. There are also a handful of other, less common methods of initial infection:

Insects (Environmental)
I do not intend to post an exhaustive list of every single environment in which this occurs, but simply show two similar yet different methods for handling the same idea: insects bite, get sick.




Swarms of biting insects carry filth fever, and each hour of travel PCs must succeed on DC 15 Fortitude saves or contract the disease.


Elder Evils, page 137





Because of the countless insects swarming in the fetid air above the garbage and stagnant pools, every creature in the Rat Hills has a 5% chance per minute of being bitten by a disease-carrying bug (DC 12 Fortitude save to avoid contracting filth fever).


City of Splendors: Waterdeep (Web Enhancement), page 13


Swarm
Swarms are capable of infecting someone with disease simply by moving into their square. See Monster Manual, page 237 for more details about swarms.

Injury and Contact (Environmental)
Many environments require saving throws against disease, especially filth fever, any time you take damage in the environment. For example, Cityscape and City of Splendors: Waterdeep say the following of areas with poor sanitation:




The risk of disease is pervasive in such areas. Anyone in the affected area who takes more points of damage in 1 round than his current Constitution score (not modifier) must succeed on a DC 12 Fortitude save or contract filth fever (DMG 292).


Cityscape, page 30





The sewers are filled with tainted water. Any activity that results in a character’s nostrils, mouth, eyes, or ears getting wet requires a DC 16 Fortitude save to avoid contracting blinding sickness. Anyone injured by a slashing or piercing attack (including natural bite, claw, gore, and sting attacks) must make a DC 12 Fortitude save or contract filth fever.


City of Splendors: Waterdeep, page 121


Again, two different sources have two different methods of handling similar situations. It’s up to the DM to decide how they want to create their environment.

Spells
By far the most common unlisted method of initial infection, spells (and SLAs) can be used to infect a character with disease. Usually, this results in the usual incubation period of the disease being changed to immediate, i.e. the infected character immediately takes damage and suffers other negative effects of disease. Most spells replicate diseases that are found elsewhere, though a select few diseases are unique to spells.

It is important to note that, for the purposes of magical vs. non-magical disease immunity, any disease caused by a spell, SLA, or supernatural ability, even if the base disease is non-magical, is treated as magical:




The contagion spell produces a "magical" disease. A monk is subject to the effects of this spell, no matter what diseases the caster chooses to inflict. Monks also are susceptible to supernatural disease such as mummy rot. When the monk description says "magical disease" it means "magical or supernatural disease."


Dragon Magazine #304, page 103


It is sometimes difficult to discern whether a disease is magical or not because it is not stated. Even diseases which were created by magical research may not be magical. The general rule is that a disease is Ex unless otherwise noted. I have followed this rule when listing diseases in the index. You may wish to rule certain diseases listed as Ex as being magical instead based on their description in the original source.




Although supernatural diseases exist, disease is usually an extraordinary effect.


Rules Compendium, page 46


Multiple Sources
Sometimes, a single event can expose a character to the same disease twice, or multiple diseases.



Plague Animals: Much of a city’s wildlife feeds on garbage or dwells in the sewers, exposing the creatures to disease. Any feral animal encountered in a city has a base 10% chance of being a disease carrier. If the city has only drainage ditches to deal with waste, this chance increases to 20%; if the city has no waste disposal system at all, it rises to 40%. If an animal is a carrier, anyone it injures is susceptible to filth fever (Fortitude DC 12 negates). This save is in addition to any that might be required due to unsanitary conditions.


Cityscape, page 32





Diseases (Ex): Nether hound ghasts carry two diseases, demon fever and ghoul fever. Characters hit by a bite attack must make two separate saves versus both diseases. Characters hit by a claw attack must make a save only against demon fever.

Dragon Magazine #322, page 89


Any other methods of infection which are not listed are usually unique to their diseases and I will not go through all of them.

[SirNibbles]

An Index of Disease

This is intended to be a complete list of diseases from all first-party sources. If anything is missing, let me know. Diseases which have multiple sources, often with varying DCs, are listed/sourced only once. On varying DCs of the same disease:




How are save DCs for disease attacks calculated? Judging from the MM, disease DCs would seem to be based on Con . But that can’t be correct, can it? The higher the Con score the healthier the monster, right?

When a monster has a disease special attack, the save DC for that disease is 10 plus + 1/2 the creature’s Hit Dice plus the creature’s Con modifier. As a general rule, any special attack that comes from the attacker’s body uses Con to determine the save DC. In the case of a mundane disease that functions as a special attack, healthier creatures carry a more virulent strain. For example, Table 8–2 in the DMG lists a DC of 12 for filth fever. Nevertheless, it requires only a DC 11 Fortitude save to avoid contracting filth fever from a dire rat’s bite, while an otyugh’s bite causes the same disease on a failed DC 14 save. Special attacks that involve supernatural diseases often use Constitution to determine the save DC as well. In some cases the creature or the disease might warrant using a different ability score. A mummy’s mummy rot, for example, uses Cha instead of Con because undead creatures lack Con scores.

When a character is exposed to a disease in some manner other than a monster’s special attack, use the save DC listed on Table 8–2. For example, if a character steps on a rusty nail and is exposed to filth fever, the save DC is 12.


D&D 3.5 FAQ - Version 30 June 2008, page 96


Index:

Disease
Name Source Page Infection DC Incubation Damage Type 1. Successful saves do not allow the character to recover. Only magical healing can save the character. 2. When damaged, character must succeed on another saving throw or 1 point of damage is permanent drain instead. 3. The victim must make three successful Fortitude saving throws in a row to recover. Special
Blinding sickness Dungeon Master's Guide 292 Ingested 16 1d3 days 1d4 Str Ex Each time the victim takes 2 or more damage from the disease, he must make another Fortitude save of be permanently blinded.
Cackle fever Dungeon Master's Guide 292 Inhaled 16 1 day 1d6 Wis Ex
Demon Fever Dungeon Master's Guide 292 Injury 18 1 day 1d6 Con Su X
Devil chills Dungeon Master's Guide 292 Injury 14 1d4 days 1d4 Str Su X
Filth Fever Dungeon Master's Guide 292 Injury 12 1d3 days 1d3 Dex, 1d3 Con Ex
Mindfire Dungeon Master's Guide 292 Inhaled 12 1 day 1d4 Int Ex
Mummy rot Dungeon Master's Guide 292 Contact 20 1 day 1d6 Con Su X "A character attempting to cast any conjuration (healing) spell on a creature afflicted with mummy rot must succeed on a DC 20 caster level check, or the spell has no effect on the afflicted character.

To eliminate mummy rot, the curse must first be broken with break enchantment or remove curse (requiring a DC 20 caster level check for either spell), after which a caster level check is no longer necessary to cast healing spells on the victim, and the mummy rot can be magically cured as any normal disease. An afflicted creature who dies of mummy rot shrivels away into sand and dust that blow away into nothing at the first wind."
Red ache Dungeon Master's Guide 292 Injury 15 1d3 days 1d6 Str Ex
Shakes Dungeon Master's Guide 292 Contact 13 1 day 1d8 Dex Ex
Slimy doom Dungeon Master's Guide 292 Contact 14 1 day 1d4 Con Ex X
Crypt Cat Disease Anauroch: The Empire of Shade 70 Injury 14 1 round Special Su X 1 point of damage per failed save remains even with magic healing
Eternal torpor Book of Exalted Deeds 35 Contact 14 1 day 1d6 Dex Su (Affliction) Cannot run or charge
Consuming passion Book of Exalted Deeds 35 Contact 17 1d3 days 1d4 Int Su (Affliction)
Depraved decadence Book of Exalted Deeds 35 Ingested 18 1d6 days 1d4 Str Su (Affliction)
Pride in vain Book of Exalted Deeds 35 Ingested 20 1 day 1d6 Cha Su (Affliction)
Raging desire Book of Exalted Deeds 35 Inhaled 15 1 day 1d3 Con Su (Affliction)
Haunting conscience Book of Exalted Deeds 35 Inhaled 16 1d3 days 1d4 Wis Su (Affliction)
Acid fever Book of Vile Darkness 30 Injury 18 1d3 days 1d6 Str Su X When a character takes more than 30 points of acid damage and is at the same time exposed to great evil (such as the presence of an evil outside or a desecrated area), she risks contracting acid fever.
Blue guts Book of Vile Darkness 30 Special 14 1d3 days 1d4 Str Su This disease comes form eating the flesh of creatures such as otyughs, gibbering mouthers, and gray oozes.
Deathsong Book of Vile Darkness 30 Contact 25 1 day 1d8 Str, 1d8 Dex, 1d8 Con Su
Faceless hate Book of Vile Darkness 30 Injury 20 1d4 days 1d6 Str, 1d6 Con Su X X Yes, I know this makes no sense When a victim of this disease takes enough Strength or Constitution damage to reduce the ability score to 0, the infection disappears. The character's ability scores are immediately restored to what they were before the onset of the disease, but he becomes a monster with no face. The character loses the ability to see (and scent, if he has that ability), but gains blindsight with a range of 60 feet. He loses the ability to speak, but gains the Silent Spell feat if a spellcaster. The victim's alignment changes to neutral evil, and he becomes intent on killing all those who were his friends and family. When the victim has hunted down everyone dear to him, he turns his ire against all other living things. These changes are permanent, and remove disease has no effect. A wish or miracle spell restores the character, but nothing else will. If the victim dies and a remove disease spell is then cast on the corpse, a resurrection or true resurrection spell restores the character to life and his original form. Raise dead won't work.
Festering anger Book of Vile Darkness 30 Special 22 Varies 1d3 Con, Special Su X Caused by 'long-term, intense fury and hatred.' Must succeed on DC 22 Will save every day or attack source of anger. Gain cumulative +2 enhancement to Str every day.
Fire taint Book of Vile Darkness 30 Inhaled 18 1 day 1d6 Wis Su X When a character takes more than 30 points of fire damage and is at the same time exposed to great evil she risks contracting fire taint.
Frigid ravaging Book of Vile Darkness 30 Injury 18 1 day 1d6 Con Su X When a character takes more than 30 points of cold damage and is at the same time exposed to great evil she risks contracting frigid ravaging.
Iron corruption Book of Vile Darkness 30 Injury 24 1d3 days 1d4 Con Su
Life blindness Book of Vile Darkness 30 Inhaled 21 1 day Special Su The infected victim loses all ability to perceive living creatures. All such beings are treated as invisible, silent, and odorless.
Lightning curse Book of Vile Darkness 30 Contact 18 1 day 1d6 Int Su X When a character takes more than 30 points of electricity damage and is at the same time exposed to great evil she risks contracting lightning curse.
Melting fury Book of Vile Darkness 30 Contact 16 1d6 days 1d4 Str, 1d4 Dex, 1d4 Con Su
Misery's passage Book of Vile Darkness 30 Injury 15 Varies 1d6 Str Su X DC 15 Will save every day or be stunned for entire day.
Possession infection Book of Vile Darkness 30 Contact 17 1 day 1d6 Wis, 1d8 Cha Su X
Sound sickness Book of Vile Darkness 30 Contact 18 1d3 days 1d6 Dex Su X When a character takes more than 30 points of sonic damage and is at the same time exposed to great evil she risks contracting sound sickness.
Soul rot Book of Vile Darkness 30 Special 23 1d8 days 1d6 Wis, 1d6 Cha Su Caused by eating the flesh of an evil outsider.
Vile rigidity Book of Vile Darkness 30 Contact 19 1 day Special Su +1 natural armor bonus to AC, increases by +1 each day but cumulative -2 penalty to Dex each day. When Dex reaches 0, the victim dies of suffocation.
Warp touch Book of Vile Darkness 30 Contact 20 Immediate Special Su X No additional saving throws or damage, remove disease has no effect. See table on page 31 for possible effects.
Darkrot City of Splendors - Waterdeep: Web Enhancement 13 Contact 12 1d2 days 1d2 Str, 1d2 Con Ex You remain contagious until cured. *This is the first note I've seen of disease being contagious from one creature to another without an attack.
Zombie Plague City of Stormreach 144 Injury 16 1 day 1d6 Con Ex If the victim dies, they rise as an infectious zombie.
Ghoul Fever Complete Arcane 162 Injury 15 1 day 1d3 Con, 1d3 Dex Su An afflicted humanoid who dies of ghoul fever rises as a ghoul at the next midnight, retaining none of the abilities it possessed in life. A humanoid of 4 HD or more rises as a ghast, not a ghoul.
Scourge Spell Compendium 181 Special Special Immediate 1d6 Str, 1d6 Dex Su X This is a disease-causing spell. The disease can be removed by first casting break enchantment or remove curse on the subject (requiring a DC 20 caster level check for either spell), after which a remove disease, heal, or similar spell will cure the victim.
Stygian Wasting Draconomicon 188 Injury Special 1 day 1d6 Cha Ex X DC is equal to Styx Dragon's breath weapon save DC.
Vedya Dragon Compendium Volume I 168 Contact 22 Immediate 1d4 Con Ex A poison that becomes a disease on a failed save. Requires 4 saves in a row to recover. Requires lesser wish or higher to cure by magical means.
Dripping Decay Dragon Compendium Volume I 179 Injury 15 Immediate 1 Str, 1 Dex, 1 Con Su Until the disease is cured, natural rest does not recover ability damage. If the disease reduces Con to 0, the victim immediately becomes a Bonespitter.
Veil of Vines Dragons of Eberron 138 Contact 20 1 minute 1d4 Dex Su Also causes blindness. When Dexterity reaches 0, the creature is transformed into a clump of vines.
Darklight Poisoning Drow of the Underdark 154 Radiation 18 Immediate 1d6 Con Ex X A caster level check is required for a healing spell to work on a victim of darklight poisoning, but this limitation is overcome by a neutralize poison spell rather than break enchantment or remove curse.
Suppurating Pox Drow of the Underdark 207 Contact 22 1 day 1d4 Con, 1d6 Cha Ex If the victim makes two successful Fortitude saves in succession, the disease is arrested but not cured, and any Constitution and Charisma losses persist until cured. When the disease is arrested, the victim remains contagious.
Lyrenton Wasting Disease Eberron Campaign Setting 156 Inhaled 18 1 day 1d3 Str, 1d3 Con Ex
Living Rot Elder Evils 10 Ingested, inhaled, injury, and contact 15 1 day 1d4 Str, 1d4 Con, 1d4 Wis, 1d4 Cha Ex When damaged, the infected creature must succeed on another saving throw or the damage is permanent drain instead.
Brood Fever Elder Evils 36 Contact 18 1 day 1 level of soul chill Ex X Soul chill levels act like negative levels but can only be restored by casting restoration while the target is bathed in natural sunlight. Creatures that acquire a number of levels of soul chill equal to or greater than their HD immediately transform into brood spawn and cannot be restored by any mortal means.
Twisted Life Spores Elder Evils 97 Contact 15 1 day 1d4 Con Su X When an infected creature dies, a swarm of mundane prests are released per 5 HD of the infected, minimum 1.
Kyuss's Gift Elder Evils 138 Contact 24 1 day 1d6 Con, 1d4 Wis Su An afflicted creature derives half the normal benefits from natural and magical healing (Exemplars of Evils page 56).
Slime Elder Evils 154 Injury 24 Immediate 1d6 Con, 1d6 Int, 1d6 Cha Ex If Int or Cha are reduced to 0, the victim becomes a whelp of Zargon.
Hunefer Rot Epic Level Handbook 199 Contact 35 Immediate 1d6 Con Su X Damage is every round, not every day. An afflicted creature that dies shrivels away into sand unless both remove disease and raise dead are cast on the remains within 2 rounds. If not, on the third round, the dust swirls and forms an 18 HD mummy with the dead foe's equipment under the hunefer's command.
Cascade Flu Expanded Psionics Handbook 67 Injury 13 1 day Special Ex Read from source.
Cerebral Parasites Expanded Psionics Handbook 68 Contact 15 1d4 days 1d8 power points Ex Psionic creatures are limited to using each of their known powers only once per day (instead of freely manifesting them).
Necromantic Infection Expedition to Castle Ravenloft 16 Contact 13 Immediate Special Su X No damage, only causes sickened status. A creature that drops below 0 hp or dies rises as a zombie in 1d4+1 rounds.
Partmitt Balam's Disease Diseased! 2 Injury 19 1 day 1 Str, 1 Con, 1 Cha Su X Rolling a 1 on initial fortitude save results in asymptomatic carrying of the disease. All damage is permanent drain.
Planar Filth Fever Expedition to the Demonweb Pits 36 Contact 14 1d3 days 1d3 Con, 1d3 Dex Su X
Death Dog Disease Fiend Folio 42 Injury 13 1 day 1d4 Str, 1d3 Con Ex
Huecuva Blight Fiend Folio 94 Injury 14 1 day 1d2 Str, 1d2 Con Su
Mud Slaad Disease Fiend Folio 157 Injury 15 Immediate Special Ex Turns the victim into a mud slaad after 1 week; the victim can make a save every day to recover.
Wendigo's Hunger Fiend Folio 188 Injury Varies 1d3 days 1d3 Wis Su Will save each day or become overwhelmed with ansatiable hunger for the flesh of its own race. Save DC for disease is based on HD and Con modifier. Will save DC is based on HD and Cha modifier.
Pit Lung Fiendish Codex I - Hordes of the Abyss 112 Inhaled 16 1 day 1 Wis Su All damage is drain. No save for damage, only initial infection. Can only be healed by a remove curse spell cast in a temple consecrated to a lawful good deity. Victim changes alignment to chaotic evil 1d6 days after incubation period.
Glasya's Disease Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants of the Nine Hells 150 Contact 32 1 day 1d6 Con, 1d6 Cha Ex Save DC is Con based.
Cabin fever Frostburn 14 Confinement 12 1 day 1d4 Wis Ex Caused by prolonged confinement in enclosed spaces surrounded by a frostfell environment. Save required every 24 hours in such an environment.
Coldfire ruin Frostburn 14 Exposure 20 1 day 1d8 Con Ex X Caused by exposure to coldfire; any character coming within 10 feet of coldfire becomes susceptible to contracting coldfire ruin. Characters damaged by coldfire are at risk of contracting coldfire ruin.
Creeping frost Frostburn 14 Injury 16 1 day 1d4 Dex Ex
Winter rot Frostburn 14 Contact 14 1d3 days 1d6 Str Ex X
Blood fever Heroes of Horror 141 Contact 17 1 minute 1d6 Con, 1d4 Cha Su X A character attempting to cast any conjuration (healing) spell on a creature afflicted with blood fever must succeed on a DC 20 caster level check, or the spell has no effect. To eliminate blood fever, the curse must first be broken with break enchantment or remove curse, (requiring a DC 20 caster level check for either spell), after which a caster level check is no longer necessary to cast healing spells on the creature, and the blood fever can be magically cured as any normal disease. An afflicted creature who dies while infected with blood fever dissolveds into a puddle of thick blood and liquefied flesh and organs.
Rotting Flesh Disease Kingdoms of Kalamar 130 Ingested 16 1 day 1d6 Con, 1d3 Str Ex
Orc Shingles Kingdoms of Kalamar 131 Contact 13 1d6 days 1d6 Con, 1d2 Cha Ex When damaged, the character must succeed another saving throw or 1 point of Charisma damage is permanent drain instead.
Goblin Pox Kingdoms of Kalamar 131 Inhaled 14 1d3 days 1d4 Int Ex X
Kiss of the Rotlord Kingdoms of Kalamar 131 Contact 16 1d6 days 1d6 Str, 1d6 Con, 1d2 Int Ex X
The Rotting Death Kingdoms of Kalamar 131 Contact 14 1d3 days 1d4-1 Str, 1d4-1 Con, 1d4-1 Cha Ex When damaged, the character must succeed another saving throw or 1 point of Strength and Charisma damage is permanent drain instead.
Kennad's Vengeance Kingdoms of Kalamar 132 Ingested 18 4d6 hours 1d4 Dex, 1d4 Con Ex
The Dancing Death Kingdoms of Kalamar 132 Contact 16 1d6+6 hours 1d3 Dex, 1d3 Con Ex Only affects humans, demihumans, and humanoids. Not contagious at stage 3 and later.
Fen Waste Kingdoms of Kalamar 144 Contact 12 1d4 days 1d3 Int Ex
Gangrenous Touch Libris Mortis 116 Contact 15 Immediate 1d4 Con Su Save against damage required every round. A creature can't be infected 24 hours after being infected or successfully saving against gangrenous touch.
Pale Wasting Libris Mortis 123 Injury 14 1 day 1d6 Con, 1d6 Str Su
Corpse Bloat Libris Mortis 128 Injury 13 1d3 days 1d6 Str Ex
Flesh-Eating Bacillus Disease Libris Mortis 178 Contact 20 1 day 1d6 Con Ex Infected are contagious via contact.
Lycanthopy Lost Empires of Faerûn 178 Injury 15 Immediate Special Su Lycanthropy
Lost Site Disease Magic of Incarnum 204 Special 12 1 day 1d4 Int Ex X If an infected creature takes 6 or more points of Int damage while within the bounds of a lost site, the creature immediately gains the lost template described on page 183.
Gray Wasting Manual of the Planes 110 Contact 20 1 day 1d4 Cha Ex Damage is permanent drain.
Meazel Disease Monsters of Faerûn 66 Injury 12 1d6 1d2 Dex, 1d2 Con Su X
Tyrantfog Zombie Disease Monsters of Faerûn 85 Injury 13 1d4 1d2 Con, 1d4 Str Ex X At the end of incubation period, victim takes 1 Str damage. Regular damage (and drain) are dealt thereafter.
Slaad Fever Monster Manual 230 Injury 18 1 day 1d3 Dex, 1d3 Cha Su If humanoid is reduced to 0 Cha, victim becomes a red slaad. Arcane spellcasters become green slaads.
Linnorm Fever Monster Manual II 143 Inhaled 32 12 hours 1d6 Str, 1d3 Con Su
Marrash Filth Fever Monster Manual II 146 Injury 14 1d3 days 1d3 Dex, 1d3 Con Ex X
Plague Monster Manual III 125 Contact 21 1 minute 2d4 Dex, 2d4 Con Su X A huge or larger creature who dies of plague rises 1d4 days later as a plague spewer.
Deadborn Vulture Disease Monster Manual V 18 Injury 16 1 day 1d4 Str Ex Save DC is Con-based.
Bog Rot Oriental Adventures 148 Injury 13 1d4 days 1d4 Con Ex
Gaki Fever Oriental Adventures 163 Injury 20 2 hours 1d6 Con Su X
Lu Nat Disease Oriental Adventures 177 Aura 15 1 day 1d6 Con Su X Affects all within 5 foot radius
Byoki no Oni Zombie Plague Oriental Adventures 186 Injury 20 1 day 1d4 Con, 1d4 Int Ex A character who dies from zombie plague immediately rises as a plague zombie.
Enhanced Mindfire Races of Faerûn - Tower of Life and Tomb of Death 5 Inhaled 25 1 minute 1d4 Int Su
Sandeyes Sandstorm 21 Contact 14 1 day 1d4 Cha Ex Each time the disease deals 2 or more points of Charisma damage, a victim must make another successful Fortitude save or become permanently blind.
Volcanic fever Sandstorm 21 Inhaled 17 1d3 days 1d6 Con Ex
The wasting Sandstorm 19 Injury 19 1 day 1d4 Dex, 1d4 Con Ex X
Spiritual Corruption Sharn: City of Towers 178 Swarm 13 1 minute 1d4 Wis Su X All saves are will saves, not Fortitude. If Wis drops to 0, subject rises as a zombie in 1d4 hours. A victim can be cured through the use of cure disease or by a successful use of the granted power of the cleric Exorcism domain; for the purposes of exorcism, the disease is considered to be a 10 HD creature.
Beetle Rot Sharn: City of Towers 182 Swarm 16 1 minute 1d6 Con Su X X A creature killed by beetle rot becomes a rancid beetle zombie in 1d4+1 days.
Coral Scratch Stormwrack 12 Injury 12 1d4 hours 1d3 Dex Ex HP damage from exposure to coral does not heal naturally until the character recovers or is cured.
Sea Rot Stormwrack 12 Contact 20 1 day 1d6 Con, 1d6 Str Ex X
Sea Sores Stormwrack 12 Ingested 14 1d4 days 1d4 Str, 1d2 Cha Ex
Suntouch Stormwrack 12 Exposure 18 1 day 1d6 Wis, 1d2 Con Ex Caused by heat damage in dead calm. Characters reduced to 0 Wis by suntouch are rendered insane instead of comatose, acquiring an overpowering compulsion to immerse themselves in the sea and/or drink seawater.
Talona's Bilght Unapproachable East 35 Special Varies 1d6 days 1d4 Con, 1d4 Cha Su X Infection via melee touch attack. Unknown if it can be spread further via contact. If victim reaches Cha 0, it becomes a blightspawned creature (if possible for its type).
Lungrot Underdark 110 Inhaled 20 1d4 hours 1d4 Con, 1d3 Str Ex X
Scaleflake Underdark 110 Contact 15 1d3 days 1d4 Cha Ex
Softpox Underdark 110 Contact 28 1 day -1 to natural armor (or if +0, 10 hp damage) Ex
All-Consuming Wasting Underdark 78 Swarm 21 1 day 1d6 Con Su X If an afflicted creature dies, it rises as a new all-consuming hunger 1d4 rounds after death.
The Plague of Red Ribbons A Question of Ethics 3 Contact 25 1 day 1d6 Con Ex
Burning Plague Burning Plague 3 Contact, Ingested 13 1 day 1d4 Con Ex Contagious after incubation period.
Dripskin Dungeon Magazine #105 61 Contact 14 1 day 1d3 Con Su Puddles of skin left behind by the victim remain contagious for a week.
Isle of Ape Disease Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk 178 Special 15 1 day 1d6 Str, 1d4 Con Ex Saves required every day while on the Isle of the Ape to avoid contracting the disease.
Ash Doom Sinister Spire 18 Contact and Inhaled 14 1 round 1d4 Con; if undead: 1d4 Cha Su X Corporeal undead and creatures with disease immunity can still be affected, but gain a +4 bonus on their saving throws. If victim's ability score is reduced to 0, the victim disintegrates or becomes a plaguelost.
Twig Blight Elixir Sunless Citadel 24 Ingested 15 1 day 1d4 Con Ex
The Vanishing The Shackled City 46 Special 15 1 day 1d6 Cha Su X The Vanishing clings to Jzadirune's magic items, infecting creatres that use their power. Once a creature takes Charisma damage, it turns translucent, becoming increasingly transparant and taking damaging with each passing day. Equipment is not rendered transparent by the disease. When Charisma is reduced to half or less, the creature gains a +4 circumstance bonus on Hide checks. A creature reduced to 0 Cha fades away, leaving behind any items worn or held. Cannot be passed from one creature to another.
Wyrm Fever War of Dragons 3 Injury 30 1d4 days 1d8 Str, 1d8 Int, 1d8 Con Ex Only affects dragons.
Blacklung fever Power of Faerûn 94 Inhaled 16 1 day 1d4 Con Ex
Blacktongue Power of Faerûn 94 Ingested 18 1d4 days 1d4 Dex Ex
Darkrot (gangrene) Power of Faerûn 94 Injury 12 1 day 1d6 Dex Ex Darkrot is a risk every time a character is wounded with a piercing or slashing attack and the resultant wound is left untreated and uncleaned for more than 24 hours. A failed save against damage requires the character to make a second save to avoid losing a limb. Roll 1d4: 1 left leg, 2 right leg, 3 left arm, 4 right arm.
Featherlung Power of Faerûn 94 Inhaled 19 1d3 days 1d6 Con Ex
Flesh rot Power of Faerûn 94 Contact 15 1d4 days 1d4 Con Ex Stated to be 'a communicable form of mummy rot'. Is regular mummy rot not communicable?
Green rot Power of Faerûn 94 Injury 20 1 day 1d6 Int Su
Marsh fever Power of Faerûn 94 Injury 15 3d6 days 1d6 Con Ex Normally communicated from vemin to mammals. There is a 2% chance a vermin is contagious with this disease.
Shaking fever Power of Faerûn 94 Contact 13 2 days 1d4 Dex Ex
Spotted plague Power of Faerûn 94 Contact 16 1 day 1d4 Cha Ex
Whitewasting Power of Faerûn 94 Contact 18 5 years 1d6 Dex Ex
Winterchill fever Power of Faerûn 94 Inhaled 12 1d6 days 1d4 Con Ex
Stinksweat Dragon Magazine #274 101 Injury 13 1d4 hours Special Ex Victim moves in a random direction at no faster than base speed each round and suffers a -2 penalty to attack rolls and saving throws until the disease runs its course.
Rukarazyll fungus Dragon Magazine #285 75 Injury 20 1d4 rounds 1 Cha Su X No saves against damage, all of which is drain. During incubation period, 10 cold or fire damage will destroy the fungus. After incubation, -2 penalty to attack rolls, Dex checks, and Reflex saves. Once Cha reaches 0, victim dies and becomes a heap of fungus that dies after 3d6 weeks and can transmit infestation by contact (DC 16).
Bone Spurs Dragon Magazine #300 54 Special Varies Immediate 1 Cha Su Only one saving throw is needed to recover. Disease automatically begins when the duration of the Bone Spurs spell expires.
Trog Fungus Dragon Magazine #303 64 Contact 14 1d4 days 1d3 Dex, 1 Con, Stench Ex Any creature with an olfactory sense that comes wihin 15 feet of an infected creature must make a DC 12 Fort save or be nauseated for 2d4 rounds, with a new save required at the end of the duration if still in range. After saving, a creature is immune for 24 hours. The infected creature is immune to the stench.
Dry Death Dragon Magazine #334 37 Injury 20 1 day 1d6 Con Su Those who have taken Con damage from this disease are considered dehydrated, regardless of temperature or their water intake, and must make a Con check every hour (DC 10+1 for each previous check) or take 1d6 points of nonlethal. Those who take nonlethal damage are fatigued. This condition can only be cured by curing the disease.
Dusanu mold disease Dragon Magazine #339 55 Inhaled or Injury 11 1d2 Days 1d6 Con Ex
Warpflesh Dragon Magazine #341 29 Injury 21 Immediate 2d4 Dex Su X While infected, -4 penalty to saves against effects that physically alter the shape and function of his body.
Grave-tainted well sickness Dragon Magazine #350 40 Ingested 16 1d3 days 1d4 Str Su Each time the victim takes 2 or more damage from the disease, he must make another Fortitude save of be permanently blinded. Any creature killed by the disease rises as a zombie 1d10 minutes after death.
Contamination Dragon Magazine #350 45 Injury 22 1 day 1d4 Con Su X Additional Fortitude save every time damage is taken or 1 point is drain. Prevents all forms of hit point recovery.
Skin rift fever Dragon Magazine #355 40 Injury 20 1 day 1d6 Con, 1d4 Cha Ex X Anyone coming into contact with the infected creature after the disease has dealt Constitution damage risks infection (at the same DC).
Bonefire Sand and Sun: Monsters of the Desert Contact, injury 19 Immediate 1d4 Con, 1d4 Cha Ex Bonefire is highly contagious and is also transmitted by physical contact. Anyone who touches a person or creature diseased with bonefire (whether victims are alive or dead) must make a Fortitude save (DC 19) or catch the disease. A dead body remains infected with bonefire for a week after its death, whereupon the skeleton finally burns out in a spectacular flash of light. If at any time 18 or more bodies infected with bonefire are located within 30 feet of each other, the bodies rapidly meld together, as if drawn by a fell telekinesis, to a point at the center of the spread. Over the course of only 1 round, the bodies bind together and form a boneworm with a number of Hit Dice equal to the number of bodies that formed it.
Plague Eater Disease Diablo II: Diablerie 78 Injury 11 Immediate 1 Con, then 1 Dex, 1 Con Ex
Ghoul Disease Diablo II: To Hell and Back 172 Injury 13 Immediate 1 Con, then 1 Dex, 1 Con Su
Plague Bearer Disease Diablo II: To Hell and Back 172 Injury 18 Immediate 1d2 Con Su After the initial infection, at every Fort save vs the disease, must make a second Fort save or suffer 1 Cha drain
Plague of Famine Dragon Magazine #319 78 Contact, ingestion 10 (infected area), 15 (infected person), 25 (ingested), 10+nonlethal damage (ongoing infection) Until damaged by thirst or hunger Standard nonlethal damage from hunger Su X Nonlethal damage from starvation is calculated separately from the "total hp", and can't be restored by eating/drinking. Once the amount of nonlethal hp exceed the "hp total" - infected creature is transformed into a Ghoul (or get Ghoulish Creature template). Plague of Famine can be removed magically, but the amount of nonlethal damage from starvation would count as Spell Resistance against such magic.
Brainboil Dungeon Magazine #105 61 Ingested 13 1d3 days 1d4 Wis, 1d4 Cha Su If Wis or Cha are below 3, victim attacks any living creature within melee range.
Gibbering Gout Dungeon Magazine #105 61 Ingested 17 1 day 1d10 Dex, 1d6 Int Su When Dex reaches 0, victim takes 1d4 Con damage per round. When Con reaches 0, body bursts open and spawns a Gibbering Mouther. Tiny or smaller creatures do not spawn a mouther. Creatures without skeletons or exoskeletons are immune to this disease.
Greenblight Dungeon Magazine #105 61 Contact 20 1 day 1d8 Str Su Turns victim into decaying plant matter when Str reaches 0; contagious until plant dies.
Skitterpox Dungeon Magazine #105 61 Injury 12 1d6 days 2d4 Dex, 1d6 Cha Su All Cha damage is drain.
Wormwarts Dungeon Magazine #105 61 Inhaled 15 1d3 days 1 Con, 1d6 Cha Su Worms spread through the air but can only survive a few minutes outside a host.
Asram Plague Dungeon Magazine #88 38 Contact, ingested, inhaled (within 30 feet of infected), and injury 20 2d4 days 1 Str, 1 Con Su X Can only spread on Selune. Fort save vs infection is made at a -4 penalty. Ability damage doesn't heal naturally.
Bone Rot Dungeon Magazine #126 92 Contact 16 1d3 days 1d4 Dex Ex Once a victim takes more than 3 points of Dex damage, attackers get +1 crit threat range with bludgeoning weapons against victim (doesn't stack).
Plague Gnat Boils Dungeon Magazine #126 93 Special 14 1 day 1d3 Str Ex Anyone entering an area containing plague gnats is bitten (no damage) and must save vs disease. When victim is reduced to 0 Str, a new cloud of plague gnats form. Fire spells instantly destroy a cloud of plague gnats.
Pale Flenser Disease Monsters of the Deep Underdark Web Injury 13 1d3 days 1d3 Dex Ex
(Athasian) Zombie Plague Dungeon Magazine #110 50 Injury Varies 1 minute 1d6 Con, 1d6 Cha Su X A character attempting to case a conjuration (healing) spell on a character afflicted with zombie plague must succeed on a DC 20 caster level check, or the spell has no effect on the afflicted character. To eliminate zombie plague, the curse-like disease must first be broken with break enchantment or remove curse (requiring a DC 20 caster level check for either spell), after which a caster level is no longer necessary to cast healing spells on the victim, and the zombie plague can be magically cured as any normal disease. An afflicted creature who dies of zombie plague rises as an Athasian zombie three days after death.
Bluerot Dungeon Magazine #106 50 Injuy Varies 1 minute 1d8 Str or 1d8 Con if Str is 0 Su Bluerot is spread only by drowned ones. An afflicted creature that dies from bluerot rises as a drowned one at the next sunset.




On afflictions:



Ravages and afflictions deal damage only to evil creatures. Any evil creature takes damage equal to that listed on either Table 3–2 or Table 3–3, plus its Charisma bonus. An evil elemental or evil undead takes an extra 1 point of damage, and an evil outsider or an evil cleric of an evil deity takes an extra 2 points of damage. If more than one kind of damage is listed, the creature’s Charisma modifier and additional damage are added to each kind of damage.


Book of Exalted Deeds, page 35

[SirNibbles]

The Spread of Disease and Gameplay Implications

A character being infected with a disease is just the beginning. That character is now a vector for that disease to spread further. This topic has the least amount of RAW support- there are a few mentions of diseases being contagious, and a few examples of an infected person spreading disease by contact, but otherwise the rules are rather sparse.

Here we see an example of a contact disease being spread by contact. Makes sense, right?




Diseased Beggar: This is a 1st-level commoner who is infected with the shakes or slimy doom (or any other disease that infects by contact). The beggar might not look particularly diseased (a DC 15 Heal check correctly interprets the sores or tremors); anyone who takes pity on him and donates money comes in contact with him and must make a Fortitude save to avoid catching the illness.


Dungeon Master’s Guide II, page 70


It follows that any other disease which can be spread by contact can be spread just as easily between both player and non-player characters. Darkrot is one such disease which specifically mentions that an infected character is contagious:




Darkrot: Your breathing becomes labored and takes on a hissing sound, and large, black patches form on your skin. You remain contagious until cured.

City of Splendors: Waterdeep (Web Enhancement), page 13


The Dancing Death from Kingdoms of Kalamar, on the other hand, stops being contagious even while a character is infected:




By Stages Three and Four the disease has altered to the point where it is no longer contagious.

Kingdoms of Kalamar, page 132


(Kingdoms of Kalamar generally does a pretty good job explaining the progression of a disease, except for the fact that it doesn’t give you any indication of how long a stage of the disease lasts. You could tie stages of a disease either to damage done or time, or a combination of both.)

The domain power of the Pestilence Domain also briefly mentions transmission of disease, this time asymptomatically:




Granted Power: Immunity to the effects of all diseases, though clerics with this power can still carry infectious diseases.


Complete Divine, page 141


Parmitt Balam’s Disease (Diseased!, page 2) introduces a mechanic whereby a character who rolls a natural 1 on their initial Fortitude save becomes an asymptomatic carrier of the disease. While this is not a general rule, it could easily be applied to all diseases. This could lead to PCs unknowingly spreading disease everywhere they go.

I have not been able to find any RAW regarding the spread of inhaled diseases from one character to another, nor anything that would indicate that a creature infected with an injury disease can then spread it by injury except in the case of vermin.

Dungeonscape discusses the spread of disease from an infected creature to a water source, either by the infected drinking from it or from its corpse. It’s reasonable to assume that water could be infected via fecal matter from an infected creature, hence the diseases in sewers.



Water laced with a naturally occurring poison or tainted with disease is common in dungeon environments, where such toxins cannot be readily washed away. Ingested poisons are the most common kind, but nearly any disease can be found in water, as long as an infected creature regularly drank from it or died in it. The liquid might also be tainted by a supernatural influence, such as an evil aura from a nearby Abyssal portal.

Dungeonscape, page 151


Note that this spread is not limited to any certain type of disease.

Many diseases with special methods of initial infection do not actually spread further because they can only spread by that special method.

Since “afflictions work…like diseases” (Book of Exalted Deeds, page 35) they should be transmissible in the same manner.

[SirNibbles]

Integrating Disease into Your Game

The goal of the DM is to maximize the enjoyment of all of the players. This index is intended to increase the number of tools a DM has available- the DM needn't use all of them, or any of them at all, to accomplish the goal of the players having more fun. Here are some things to consider when running your game:

1. Who Rolls?

When a character needs to save against initial infection, who rolls the save?




The DM can roll the initial Fortitude save for you, so that you don’t know whether you caught the disease.


Rules Compendium, page 46


There are pros and cons to having the DM or the player roll. As the Rules Compendium notes, the DM rolling means the player doesn't know whether their character has caught the disease. This increases the realism. However, some players like rolling dice and knowing more than their character would know. If you decide to not tell your players that their characters are infected, make sure you have plans for describing their condition when the incubation period ends. Simply saying 'you take 3 Dex damage' in the middle of next week's session is lazy and a disservice to your players.

2. Diagnosing Disease


I have not been able to locate an official ruling for the diagnosing of disease outside of the Detect Disease spell (Oriental Adventures, page 101), which allows for the detection of an infection, as well as the diagnosis of the exact disease with a DC 20 Wisdom check or a DC 20 Heal check.

Every disease has symptoms, some more pronounced than others.




Red Ache: Skin turns red, bloated, and warm to the touch.
The Shakes: Causes involuntary twitches, tremors, and fits.

Dungeon Master's Guide, page 292


3. How Much Disease Should You Have?
Darkrot (Powers of Faerûn) is a threat every single time a character doesn't clean out a wound for 24 hours. That means that even taking 1 damage from an attack and figuring that you can just recover that HP while sleeping puts you at risk of losing a limb. There are a handful of environments listed above that require you to make a save either just from being in the environment or when you take damage in the environment.

If you're playing a dark, gritty fantasy, you may want to have this, and even perhaps multiple diseases simultaneously threatening characters who get injured in dirty environments or don't treat their wounds. However, you have to balance out the fact that your goal is not to kill, disable, dismember, or otherwise make your players invalids via disease. Just because there are hundreds of diseases doesn't mean that every single attack or pool of water or food from the local pub needs to make them worry about getting infected.

Not every encounter needs to have a monster capable of transmitting disease.

Consciously decide when you want to present a threat of disease and ensure it makes sense within the storyline.

4. How Do Players Deal With Disease?
The fact that players may have access to remove disease does not mean disease is inconsequential. Having to use up that spell slot or limited-use ability affects their resources. It may mean that they can't heal the villager they meet in the next town, or when they are infected with another disease, they no longer have it available. A cleric who only realises he is infected may not be able to do anything if Wis damage has left him unable to cast remove disease. If a large number of people are infected, it's likely that they won't be able to cure them all, and the disease could spread back to people who were already cured (if they don't take precautions to prevent retransmission).

____

Assorted random notes:

__

Curing and preventing disease:

Rivers of Blood, page 15: use belladonna to stave off lycanthropy.
Dragon Magazine #334, page 66: Breathing masks give a +1 circumstance bonus against inhaled poisons.
Complete Scoundrel, page 110: Clearwater Tablets make water safe to drink

The above list is not meant to be all-inclusive.

__

Mental deficiencies are not diseases. For mental ailments and psychiatric disorders, see Unearthed Arcana page 199-210. Some diseases mention mental effects, but implementation is difficult and can often be difficult for players to roleplay because they are literally not in control of their character.

[ShurikVch]

Disease
Name Source Page Infection DC Incubation Damage Type 1. Successful saves do not allow the character to recover. Only magical healing can save the character. 2. When damaged, character must succeed on another saving throw or 1 point of damage is permanent drain instead. 3. The victim must make three successful Fortitude saving throws in a row to recover. Special
Bonefire Sand and Sun: Monsters of the Desert (https://web.archive.org/web/20031009124653/http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/fw/fw20020817a) Contact, injury 19 Instantaneous 1d4 Con, 1d4 Cha Ex Bonefire is highly contagious and is also transmitted by physical contact. Anyone who touches a person or creature diseased with bonefire (whether victims are alive or dead) must make a Fortitude save (DC 19) or catch the disease. A dead body remains infected with bonefire for a week after its death, whereupon the skeleton finally burns out in a spectacular flash of light. If at any time 18 or more bodies infected with bonefire are located within 30 feet of each other, the bodies rapidly meld together, as if drawn by a fell telekinesis, to a point at the center of the spread. Over the course of only 1 round, the bodies bind together and form a boneworm with a number of Hit Dice equal to the number of bodies that formed it.
Disease (called "Fever" in the table) Diablo II: Diablerie 78 Injury 11 ? (Instantaneous?) 1 Con, then
1 Dex and 1 Con Ex
Disease (no other name listed) Diablo II: To Hell and Back 172 ? (Injury?) 13 ? (Instantaneous?) 1 Con, then
1 Dex and 1 Con Su
Disease (no other name listed) Diablo II: To Hell and Back 172 ? (Injury?) 18 ? (Instantaneous?) 1d2 Con Su After the initial infection, at every Fort save vs the disease, must make a second Fort save - or suffer 1 Cha drain
Plague of Famine Dragon #319 78 Contact, ingestion 10 (infected area),
15 (infected person),
25 (ingestion),
10+nonlethal damage (ongoing infection) Until the damage from thirst or hunger Standard nonlethal damage from hunger Su (?) X Nonlethal damage from starvation is calculated separately from the "total hp", and can't be restored by eating/drinking. Once the amount of nonlethal hp exceed the "hp total" - infected creature is transformed into a Ghoul (or get Ghoulish Creature template).
Plague of Famine can be removed magically, but the amount of nonlethal damage from starvation would count as Spell Resistance against such magic.

Plague Ant Swarm (Fiend Folio) infects wit Red ache, but the DC for this attack listed as 17

How about stuff from Dungeon magazines?

[Telonius]

Great resource! I think the Special column has something amiss though - The Vanishing and Wyrm Fever (and a few surrounding them) look like they're offset by a row.

[Thurbane]

Nice work! I'll add this in to my extended sig.

[SirNibbles]

Disease
Name Source Page Infection DC Incubation Damage Type 1. Successful saves do not allow the character to recover. Only magical healing can save the character. 2. When damaged, character must succeed on another saving throw or 1 point of damage is permanent drain instead. 3. The victim must make three successful Fortitude saving throws in a row to recover. Special
Bonefire Sand and Sun: Monsters of the Desert (https://web.archive.org/web/20031009124653/http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/fw/fw20020817a) Contact, injury 19 Instantaneous 1d4 Con, 1d4 Cha Ex Bonefire is highly contagious and is also transmitted by physical contact. Anyone who touches a person or creature diseased with bonefire (whether victims are alive or dead) must make a Fortitude save (DC 19) or catch the disease. A dead body remains infected with bonefire for a week after its death, whereupon the skeleton finally burns out in a spectacular flash of light. If at any time 18 or more bodies infected with bonefire are located within 30 feet of each other, the bodies rapidly meld together, as if drawn by a fell telekinesis, to a point at the center of the spread. Over the course of only 1 round, the bodies bind together and form a boneworm with a number of Hit Dice equal to the number of bodies that formed it.
Disease (called "Fever" in the table) Diablo II: Diablerie 78 Injury 11 ? (Instantaneous?) 1 Con, then
1 Dex and 1 Con Ex
Disease (no other name listed) Diablo II: To Hell and Back 172 ? (Injury?) 13 ? (Instantaneous?) 1 Con, then
1 Dex and 1 Con Su
Disease (no other name listed) Diablo II: To Hell and Back 172 ? (Injury?) 18 ? (Instantaneous?) 1d2 Con Su After the initial infection, at every Fort save vs the disease, must make a second Fort save - or suffer 1 Cha drain
Plague of Famine Dragon #319 78 Contact, ingestion 10 (infected area),
15 (infected person),
25 (ingestion),
10+nonlethal damage (ongoing infection) Until the damage from thirst or hunger Standard nonlethal damage from hunger Su (?) X Nonlethal damage from starvation is calculated separately from the "total hp", and can't be restored by eating/drinking. Once the amount of nonlethal hp exceed the "hp total" - infected creature is transformed into a Ghoul (or get Ghoulish Creature template).
Plague of Famine can be removed magically, but the amount of nonlethal damage from starvation would count as Spell Resistance against such magic.

Plague Ant Swarm (Fiend Folio) infects wit Red ache, but the DC for this attack listed as 17

How about stuff from Dungeon magazines?

Thank you for the extra diseases! I'm sure I missed more, especially in adventure modules and magazines. I would be happy to include Dungeon Magazine, but I simply did not have the time to go through everything myself. EDIT: I admit I am somewhat loath to include the 'diseases' from the Diablo II books because the editing isn't very good and they seem to be written more as poisons than diseases.

As the FAQ post above states, DCs may differ because creatures that inflict disease with a special attack use their Con modifier to determine DC.


Great resource! I think the Special column has something amiss though - The Vanishing and Wyrm Fever (and a few surrounding them) look like they're offset by a row.

Good catch. Will fix that. (EDIT: Fixed)


Nice work! I'll add this in to my extended sig.

Glad it's appreciated. It took me nearly a week at several hours a day to sift through all the source materials and come up with the list and rulings.


There are a few which I found:
Asram Plague ("The Door from Eveywhere", Dungeon #88) - all vectors, DC 20, 2d4 days, 1 Str and 1 Con; this disease is infectious only on the Selûne (Toril's satellite)

Plague Gnat Boils ("Swamp Dangers", Dungeon #126) - touch? (said gnat's bites do no actual hp damage), DC 14, 1 day, 1d3 Str; at 0 Str, new cloud of Plague Gnats forms around the immobile body

"The Stink" adventure (Dungeon #105) includes six new diseases; one of those turns victim into sentient (but immobile) compost heap, and another one can transform infected creatures into Gibbering Mouthers...

Added.

[Thurbane]

Glad it's appreciated. It took me nearly a week at several hours a day to sift through all the source materials and come up with the list and rulings.

100%. Really appreciate the effort that goes into something like this.

In fact, you may have inspired me to finally get into gar and make up a guide/index to Drugs and Alcohol in 3.X D&D. Well, soon(ish) anyway.

[ShurikVch]

I would be happy to include Dungeon Magazine, but I simply did not have the time to go through everything myself.
There are a few which I found:
Asram Plague ("The Door from Eveywhere", Dungeon #88) - all vectors, DC 20, 2d4 days, 1 Str and 1 Con; this disease is infectious only on the Selûne (Toril's satellite)

Plague Gnat Boils ("Swamp Dangers", Dungeon #126) - touch? (said gnat's bites do no actual hp damage), DC 14, 1 day, 1d3 Str; at 0 Str, new cloud of Plague Gnats forms around the immobile body

"The Stink" adventure (Dungeon #105) includes six new diseases; one of those turns victim into sentient (but immobile) compost heap, and another one can transform infected creatures into Gibbering Mouthers...

[ShurikVch]

One more disease: Contamination (Dragon #350) - it spreaded via bites of Corrupted Creatures; similar to Slimy Doom, except it also prevents recovery of lost hit points (by both magical and natural means)

[SirNibbles]

One more disease: Contamination (Dragon #350) - it spreaded via bites of Corrupted Creatures; similar to Slimy Doom, except it also prevents recovery of lost hit points (by both magical and natural means)

That was already on the list.

[Akal Saris]

Thanks for putting together this great resource!

A few comments:
1) Is it possible for the row spacing to expand the 'special' row? The spacing is difficult to read at present due to some rows taking up 3/4 of my screen. Maybe change the special row to a footnote format instead?
2) I think the resource is very helpful from a DM's standpoint. Do you have any plans to discuss diseases from a character optimization aspect? For example, are there any spells/items that can instantly trigger the incubation effects of a disease?

As an aside, my favorite DM moment with diseases was a low-level Pathfinder game where the players were exploring a junkyard and got attacked by rats. Midway through the session, half the party had come down with filth fever, and the party mage had contracted tetanus. Then the NPC cleric in the area gave them so much grief about their conditions that they decided to just wait out the diseases rather than paying her for a cure :P

[SirNibbles]

Thanks for putting together this great resource!

A few comments:
1) Is it possible for the row spacing to expand the 'special' row? The spacing is difficult to read at present due to some rows taking up 3/4 of my screen. Maybe change the special row to a footnote format instead?
2) I think the resource is very helpful from a DM's standpoint. Do you have any plans to discuss diseases from a character optimization aspect? For example, are there any spells/items that can instantly trigger the incubation effects of a disease?

As an aside, my favorite DM moment with diseases was a low-level Pathfinder game where the players were exploring a junkyard and got attacked by rats. Midway through the session, half the party had come down with filth fever, and the party mage had contracted tetanus. Then the NPC cleric in the area gave them so much grief about their conditions that they decided to just wait out the diseases rather than paying her for a cure :P

Did you mean like this?


Disease
Name Source Page Infection DC Incubation Damage Type 1. Successful saves do not allow the character to recover. Only magical healing can save the character. 2. When damaged, character must succeed on another saving throw or 1 point of damage is permanent drain instead. 3. The victim must make three successful Fortitude saving throws in a row to recover.
Blinding sickness Dungeon Master's Guide 292 Ingested 16 1d3 days 1d4 Str Ex Each time the victim takes 2 or more damage from the disease, he must make another Fortitude save of be permanently blinded.

Mummy rot Dungeon Master's Guide 292 Contact 20 1 day 1d6 Con Su X A character attempting to cast any conjuration (healing) spell on a creature afflicted with mummy rot must succeed on a DC 20 caster level check, or the spell has no effect on the afflicted character.

To eliminate mummy rot, the curse must first be broken with break enchantment or remove curse (requiring a DC 20 caster level check for either spell), after which a caster level check is no longer necessary to cast healing spells on the victim, and the mummy rot can be magically cured as any normal disease. An afflicted creature who dies of mummy rot shrivels away into sand and dust that blow away into nothing at the first wind."


If so, I acknowledge that it may be easier to read on mobile, but I think the overall readability of the chart is reduced by the change.

___

I did not plan to discuss disease from a character optimisation aspect, but I can touch on it briefly. Generally, there are three reasons you don't want to use disease as a player:
1. Incubation period is usually at least a day.
2. Damage is only once per day.
3. Intentionally infecting someone with disease is generally considered evil. Most player character are The Good GuysTM.

The latter can easily dealt with simply by not being good. The first two issues can be addressed in a few ways:
1. Pick a disease off the table with an incubation period that is measured in rounds or that is Immediate. Figure out a way to be able to transmit it.
2. Use an ability/spell, such as Contagion, which causes a disease to incubate immediately.
3. Pick a disease which does damage more often than once a day (Hunefer Rot, Gangrenous Touch), and combine it with an ability/spell which causes the disease to incubate immediately.

In all cases, Nosomatic Chirurgeon (Dragonmarked, page 114) is a good option, as is Cancer Mage (Book of Vile Darkness, page 52). Also check out Breath of Contagion (Dragon Magazine #304, page 36) for a great way to transmit every disease you are infected with simultaneously as an AoE.

The thing is, ability damage simply isn't that great of a way for PCs to solve problems. The greatest weapon in the arsenal of the player character is swift and overwhelming violence which destroys the enemy or enemies as quickly as possible. Ability damage doesn't do that. Furthermore, disease usually isn't the best way to inflict ability damage.

So, as a PC, why bother with disease?
1. Creatures that you infect and kill could possibly rise under your control, with no limit to HD. For example, someone killed by Hunefer Rot rises as an 18 HD mummy under the Hunefer's Command. Do you get to count as the Hunefer because you infected the creature? There are other disease which creature controllable creatures.
2. The use of Cancer Mage in combination with Festering Anger and Vile Rigidity to gain infinite Strength and AC is a well-known TO trick.
3. Disease spreads, which is good if you want to spread. You can weaken an entire country by simply infecting a single enemy and letting them live so they can spread the disease.
4. Many diseases turn you into something else after a certain point. Most of the time, this is a bad thing. I'm sure someone can figure out a way to exploit being turned into a Mud Slaad or Zombie or some other creature. Warning: any disease which gives you a template with Level Adjustment: — means you can no longer play your character.
5. Some diseases have effects which could be beneficial. For example, Faceless Hate could be abused to cheese ability scores and gain Blindsight and Silent Spell for free. Warp Touch, which probably deserves its own bullet point, has many beneficial permanent outcomes, including bonuses to ability scores, extra natural attacks, increased movement, fly speed, etc.