Need a Disease-based caster or cult for an upcoming campaign

[TheLogman]

Basic Campaign info for those who are interested:

Spoiler

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Basic rundown on the start of my campaign:

A gnome cleric who decided to play god with some various divine spells and diseases in the attempt to create a cure for negative energy accidentally made a horrible negative energy plague that absorbs both positive and negative energy. He eventually was able to use various elemental spells with the help of some Druids and the like to seal it underneath a hill on the main island's peninsula.

Hundreds of years have passed. Every year, the Barbarian tribe that now lives on the hill creates a magical pyre that burns down the plague that festers in the earth, keeping the world safe for another year. The Barbarians don't know that the tradition is keeping the world safe, they just know it's an excuse to party, just another holiday.

My plan is for an Orc tribe that lives in the Wastes to the East to invade during the ceremony, disrupting it and allowing the plague to spread once again. The issue is that I need a group of something to encourage the Orcs and empower them to take action. A smarter, driving force of maybe humans that worship a deity of plague or the plague itself.

Long story short, I need any ideas or materials anyone has on disease or plague based caster classes, good spells to use, or deities that deal with the plagues, and what books they are in. Or homebrew if you know of anything. I'm thinking of checking Zeta Kai's Plane of Flesh for some disease stuff.

Please no Cancer Mages. It just doesn't fit the setting.

Worse case scenario, I could just come up with some sort of organization with a fun name (The Red Cough of Despair?), with a bunch of Clerics or Wizards that like to cast Contagion and send diseases to people.

But that sounds kinda lame.

Oh, and the campaign is gonna run from level 3 to 8 most probably. Not that that matters much, since if the caster or the like is too strong, I'll just make them buff by the sidelines or be plot devices.

[Starbuck_II]

Basic Campaign info for those who are interested:

Please no Cancer Mages. It just doesn't fit the setting.

Is it the class abilities or the class flavor? Because if it is the flavor just change it. It won't affect game balance.

[Keld Denar]

Yea, Cancer Mage would actually be perfect. Its not even unbalanced provided you don't abuse one of the handful of diseases that give you benefits. Those are the reason its broken, not the fact that its a Cancer Mage.

Anyway...The problem I see is that undead would naturally be the best carriers, although unfortunately, undead don't have Con scores to carry the standard variety of disease. They can carry some diseases though, based off their Cha score, such as Ghoul Fever.

[TheLogman]

Well, my major gripe was that the Cancer Mage seemed to be a good bit more personal from what I had read of it, a lot less likely to work in a group, a good final boss, but not good in groups.

The other problem I had was that it didn't seem like it would work well as a buffer or enabler.

Though I admit I haven't read much more than the fluff, as I don't have access to that book. What are its general abilities? Is it just poison and disease spreading?

[Sinfire Titan]

It's abilities turn you into a permanent carrier, give you a familiar that's attached to your body (internally too), and makes you immune to the drawbacks of diseases, but receiving the bonuses as normal (of which there are few).

The reasons it is broken are 3 diseases presented in the BoVD itself, and one in the XPH (Psionic Cascade). A single dip into Cancer Mage allows for an infinite Nat Armor bonus, an infinite Strength score, or the ability to cycle through your powers known with absolute control over them, in addition to manifesting multiple powers/round. The latter one gets crazy when you apply Metamind, but it's severely underpowered until the abilities are obtained.

[Pharaoh's Fist]

Grandpa Nurgle loves you...

[The Neoclassic]

Dunno if any of these will fit, but I'll post 'em anyway, just in case.

Spoiler

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Food Poisoning
Transmutation
Level: Asn 1, Snk 2, Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: One dish of food or beverage (see below)
Duration: See below
Saving Throw: See below
Spell Resistance: Yes
You cause a portion of food or beverage to become toxic. The food or beverage gets no saving throw, but everyone who consumes the substance rolls a Fortitude save. Once eaten, it takes one minute to take effect. At this point, those who succeed their saving throws feel slightly queasy but suffer no ill effects. All who fail their saving throw become nauseated for one minute and sickened for the next hour. Touching food or being splashed with beverage which has food poisoning doesn’t harm one, but any consumption, even just a forkful or sip, causes the abovementioned effects.
Food poisoning can affect up to one pound of food or one gallon of liquid per two caster levels.

Pathogenicide
Necromancy (Healing)
Level: Clr 8
Components: V, S, DF, XP
Casting Time: 8 hours
Range: 10 mile radius per caster level
Target: All infected creatures (see below)
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial (see below)
Spell Resistance: No
You select a certain disease, such as mummy rot or filth fever. All creatures within the casting area are instantly purged of said disease, be they carriers or actively ill. Creatures who naturally spread a particular disease as a part of their description, such as night hags, get a Fortitude save to avoid being purged of the disease. They only get that save if the disease they’d be purged of is the one specifically associated with them. On a failed save, they are no longer carriers of the disease and cannot be again until they interact with another (infected) member of their species to regain it. Rats and other creatures who are just colloquially associated with disease, rather than it being a part of the description of their species, do not qualify for this save.
XP cost: 1,000 xp.

Remove Disease, Mass
Necromancy (Healing)
Level: Clr 6, Drd 6
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature/level, no two of which may be more than 30 ft. apart
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)
In each selected creature, you remove all diseases from which they’re currently suffering. The spell also kills parasites, including green slime and others. Certain special diseases may not be countered by this spell or may be countered only by a caster of a certain level or higher.
Note: Since the spell’s duration is instantaneous, it does not prevent reinfection after a new exposure to the same disease at a later date.

[TheLogman]

Yeah, permanent carrier of disease doesn't much work for me, as I need someone a little more focused on the grand scale, a class that could command and be in the open, not assassinate with disease from the sidelines.

And I know about how the Cancer Mage is supposedly broken, but that doesn't affect me, as not only am I not gonna do that (Since I'm commanding them), and I wouldn't allow it anyway.

Nurgle is good, thanks for that. As long as none of my players play Warhammer (I don't think they do), then I'm good to go ahead and steal that. Plus I have tons of fluff for it already.

Are there any disease-based spells other than Remove Disease or Contagion? Plague-based monsters, items, classes?

Other than the Plague Spewer, which is not only way way too strong for these PC's, but also is way nasty looking. Freaking hate that picture. Messes with me.

EDIT: Neoclassic with the useful spell ninja! The Food Poison spell could be useful. The other two aren't plague based, but I think I could make use of them somewhere in the campaign. My idea is that a main Divine-based city is going to attempt to use standard methods to destroy the plague, (Which maybe last resorts being those two powerful spells), but all those attempts will fail, because of the Plague's partially divine origin.

[taltamir]

clerics with a disease domain.

[Volkov]

Yea, Cancer Mage would actually be perfect. Its not even unbalanced provided you don't abuse one of the handful of diseases that give you benefits. Those are the reason its broken, not the fact that its a Cancer Mage.

Anyway...The problem I see is that undead would naturally be the best carriers, although unfortunately, undead don't have Con scores to carry the standard variety of disease. They can carry some diseases though, based off their Cha score, such as Ghoul Fever.

Insects would actually be better, simply because they can reproduce far faster than any undead. Thus you would have much more carriers than if you went with undead.

[TheLogman]

Taltamir, I can't find that domain in the SRD, which source/book/magazine is it from? What are some of the granted spells? The Domain power?

EDIT: Volkov, my plan for spreading the disease is kinda multi-faceted.

The Orcs regularly assault the Dwarven Mountains to the South, so once the disease hits the orcs, it will spread to the dwarves. Then, the disease will spread across the main trading routes, until it hits the Elven Forest, which is also a main hub for trade. There, it spreads to all the forest animals, which increases the disease exponentially, until it hits various flying creatures. Insects, yes, but also birds, dragons, and other various flying things. This allows it to hit everyone but the Divine Caster Hub, who catches it and decontaminates everything anyway.

In fact, an encounter with a Green or White Dragon later on to demonstrate that the plague has become flight-enabled is a major part of the campaign.

[The Neoclassic]

Taltamir, I can't find that domain in the SRD, which source/book/magazine is it from? What are some of the granted spells? The Domain power?

Homebrewed Campaign
DISEASE
Granted Power: The priest is immune to all forms of disease, both magical and mundane. Once per week per level, the priest may cause a random disease in a target by making a successful touch attack.
Disease Domain Spells
1. Chill Touch
2. Summon Swarm
3. Contagion
4. Poison
5. Insect Plague
6. Enervation
7. Circle of Death
8. Horrid Wilting
9. Energy Drain

Like that? I personally think it's a bit lame. I could prolly whip up a few diseasey spells though for a homebrew one, if necessary.

EDIT: Oh look- another one!

DISEASE
Deity: Epidemia (Malus, Tendaria)
Granted Power: You cast disease spells at +1 caster level.
Disease Domain Spells:
1 Ray of Enfeeblement
2 Stinking Cloud
3 Contagion
4 Poison
5 Cloudkill
6 Acid Fog
7 Disintegrate
8 Finger of Death
9 Horrid Wilting

[TheLogman]

Ooo! Some of those Domain Spells have given me some good ideas. Stinking Cloud is a good one, hurts the PC's, enables the enemy creatures, gives the idea of disease, is weakening.

[taltamir]

i meant homebrew one OR look for someone else's homebrewed one... Someone has to have made a "disease" domain :)

also, maybe homebrew / find a bunch of disease descriptor spells.

[TelemontTanthul]

The book titled "Forbidden Arcana" has EXACTLY what you are looking for.

I just so happened to have been looking at that today.




I can't officially tell you how to get the book. But I hear that a place called Bit Torrent might be able to help you...

For legal purposes I have no idea what that website does

[TheLogman]

I have a friend with a lot of books, he probably has access to the book or knows someone who does.

But what's in there that I could use? What class/template/spell/monster?

[The Neoclassic]

I'm thinking of checking Zeta Kai's Plane of Flesh for some disease stuff.

Or someone else could get bored and find the relevent info for you.

CR 9ish infectoplasms (living diseases). First is the template, followed by many infectoplasms of common living diseases.

Virus, essentially. CR 3.

Cancer-based monster, CR 2 (but could probably easily be buffed).

Antibody, a creature the PCs might be able to summon to help them fight the plague.

I admit that I was disappointed not to find a phlegm-based creature. I think it'd fit pretty well with the whole disease theme.

[Volkov]

Taltamir, I can't find that domain in the SRD, which source/book/magazine is it from? What are some of the granted spells? The Domain power?

EDIT: Volkov, my plan for spreading the disease is kinda multi-faceted.

The Orcs regularly assault the Dwarven Mountains to the South, so once the disease hits the orcs, it will spread to the dwarves. Then, the disease will spread across the main trading routes, until it hits the Elven Forest, which is also a main hub for trade. There, it spreads to all the forest animals, which increases the disease exponentially, until it hits various flying creatures. Insects, yes, but also birds, dragons, and other various flying things. This allows it to hit everyone but the Divine Caster Hub, who catches it and decontaminates everything anyway.

In fact, an encounter with a Green or White Dragon later on to demonstrate that the plague has become flight-enabled is a major part of the campaign.

Have it spread on a locust horde, which always number in the tens of billions at the very least and can cover thousands of miles easily. And they have the added bonus of making everyone think it is a natural disease, and the fact that before they can go after you, they will have to deal with the locusts eating all the crops, and diseasing any that are left, giving a double whammy.

[TheLogman]

Yeah, I had looked over earlier. It's not exactly what I was looking for, but I think maybe some of the nastier cancerous monsters could be part of the final battle, as the plague spreads and changes monsters and the like from within.

Oh, and for anyone who is interested? The PC's must destroy the plague by triggering a volcanic explosion that covers the entire island with lava.

But the plague monsters are going to try to stop the flow of the lava with cold spells and the like, so the PCs will have to hold out against the lava flow until the entire target site is covered in lava, instead of getting to some kind of safety like anyone else sane is going to.

So some of the Flesh monsters could serve well in the final battle. Great Cancerous legions, given flesh and animated with an intention to destroy the PC's and stop the volcano.

Edit: Locusts, maybe. The island is tropical and humid, so not a great place for locusts. Migratory or Brown Locusts maybe, as they're more the Central Africa Tropical Climate I'm looking for.

But I don't know that it'll matter so much how the plague spreads. The way I have the campaign set up, the plague slowly developing is more of a background to the adventure, the PC's know very little about the Plague until it is too late to stop with anything less than Volcanic awesome, because either the developments take place in time lapse, or aren't noticed until they affect the PC's, with destruction of Trade Routes or Encountering of Creatures that are infected.

[Volkov]

Yeah, I had looked over earlier. It's not exactly what I was looking for, but I think maybe some of the nastier cancerous monsters could be part of the final battle, as the plague spreads and changes monsters and the like from within.

Oh, and for anyone who is interested? The PC's must destroy the plague by triggering a volcanic explosion that covers the entire island with lava.

But the plague monsters are going to try to stop the flow of the lava with cold spells and the like, so the PCs will have to hold out against the lava flow until the entire target site is covered in lava, instead of getting to some kind of safety like anyone else sane is going to.

So some of the Flesh monsters could serve well in the final battle. Great Cancerous legions, given flesh and animated with an intention to destroy the PC's and stop the volcano.

Edit: Locusts, maybe. The island is tropical and humid, so not a great place for locusts. Migratory or Brown Locusts maybe, as they're more the Central Africa Tropical Climate I'm looking for.

But I don't know that it'll matter so much how the plague spreads. The way I have the campaign set up, the plague slowly developing is more of a background to the adventure, the PC's know very little about the Plague until it is too late to stop with anything less than Volcanic awesome, because either the developments take place in time lapse, or aren't noticed until they affect the PC's, with destruction of Trade Routes or Encountering of Creatures that are infected.

In that case, one could use mosquitoes, a swarm of billions plagued an african village in a jungle, the swarm was so vast, that a portion of it completely drained a large cow of all fluids within minutes.