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Diseases and Poisons

Source Pathfinder Unchained pg. 138
The basic Pathfinder rules for diseases and poisons don’t necessarily mimic the progression of these afflictions in a believable way; a character with a few lesser restoration spells can simply ignore most diseases, and diseases and poisons that don’t affect your Constitution score can never kill you. What’s more, because these afflictions tend to affect ability scores, their effects can be unrealistically powerful—a poison that damages Intelligence can take down any creature of animal intelligence, regardless of CR. The following optional system presents progression tracks for diseases and poisons that cause the victim’s situation to become increasingly worse.

Progression and End States

Source Pathfinder Unchained pg. 138
When a victim fails his initial save and is afflicted with a disease or poison, he immediately gains the effects of the first step down that affliction’s progression track. For diseases, this is latent/carrier; for poisons, it’s usually weakened. This replaces the affliction’s normal effects (such as ability damage and ability drain), though many afflictions still produce additional symptoms. At the GM’s discretion, truly deadly diseases and poisons might cause the victim to start further along the progression track than normal. All effects from disease and poison tracks are cumulative.

Most afflictions also have an end state—a point at which the disease or poison has progressed as far as it can. Once an affliction has reached its end state, the victim keeps all current effects (but doesn’t suffer further effects) and can no longer attempt saving throws to recover from the affliction. By default, each disease and poison track has an end state of dead, but some afflictions have less severe end states, and others might progress only to a certain intermediate state at worst, allowing victims to continue attempting saves.

In general, whenever a victim fails a saving throw against her affliction, she moves one step further down the progression track, gaining the effects of the next state and keeping all previous effects, until she reaches the end state. If she’s afflicted with a disease, she moves one step back toward healthy whenever she fulfills the conditions in the disease’s Cure entry (usually by succeeding at one or more saves). Once she reaches healthy, she is cured. Poisons work differently—fulfilling the cure condition removes a poison from the victim’s system, but she remains at the same step on the track and recovers gradually. (Treat a poison that has exhausted its duration in the same way.) For every day of bed rest (or 2 nights of normal rest), a victim recovers one step; this recovery is doubled as normal by Heal checks, and tenacious poisons might require a longer recovery period.

Usually, neutralize poison or remove disease immediately moves the victim to a healthy state on the respective track, and a heal spell will work for both. However, once the disease or poison has reached its end state, only a more powerful spell such as miracle or wish can remove its effects.

Some diseases and poisons cause the same effects as a condition (such as sickened) or render characters paralyzed. Effects that modify or remove those conditions (such as immunities) do not apply; only effects and immunities that help against diseases or poisons apply, as appropriate.

Diseases

Source Pathfinder Unchained pg. 138
The disease track simulates the progression of a disease, starting with incubation. Ignore any onset entry for a disease; the victim attempts saving throws at a rate based on the disease’s frequency. At the GM’s discretion, if the disease’s Cure entry does not allow a cure, the disease’s progression may be irreversible without the use of a heal spell, and even a successful remove disease only prevents further deterioration. There are two different tracks: one for diseases that affect physical ability scores (such as bubonic plague or slimy doom) and one for those that affect mental ability scores (such as cackle, fever or mindfire).

Poisons

Source Pathfinder Unchained pg. 139
The poison track simulates the progressive effects of poison in the body. A character who is poisoned rolls a saving throw after the listed onset at the listed frequency. On an initial exposure to poison, regardless of whether her save succeeds, a victim takes an amount of poison damage equal to the poison’s DC – 10, divided by 2 (for example, 5 points of poison damage for a DC 20 poison). This is hit point damage, not ability damage. If a victim is exposed to additional doses of the same poison, a failed save progresses the poison track by one step and increases the duration by 50%, but doesn’t increase the DC.

Sample Diseases

Source Pathfinder Unchained pg. 140
Examples of diseases that use the various tracks are given below. If a disease does not specify an effect, it imposes only the effects for the victim’s state on the pertinent track.

Blinding Sickness

Type disease, ingested; Save Fortitude DC 16
Track physical; Frequency 1/day
Effect At the impaired state, also become permanently blind
Cure 2 consecutive saves

Bubonic Plague

Type disease, injury or inhaled Save Fortitude DC 17
Track physical; Frequency 1/day
Cure 2 consecutive saves

Cackle Fever

Type disease, inhaled; Save Fortitude DC 16
Track mental; Frequency 1/day
Cure 2 consecutive saves

Dementia Dust

Type disease, inhaled; Save Fortitude DC 14
Track mental; Frequency 1/week
Effect Even if the disease is removed with remove disease, condition does not improve without greater restoration or heal
Cure magic only

Demon Fever

Type disease, injury; Save Fortitude DC 18
Track physical; Frequency 1/day
Effect At the impaired state, penalties from the weakened state become permanent until victim receives heal or restoration
Cure 2 consecutive saves

Devil Chills

Type disease, injury; Save Fortitude DC 14
Track physical; Frequency 1/day
Cure 3 consecutive saves

Filth Fever

Type disease, injury; Save Fortitude DC 12
Track physical; Frequency 1/day
Cure 2 consecutive saves

Leprosy

Type disease, contact, inhaled, or injury; Save Fortitude DC 12
Track physical (special); Frequency 1/week
Effect Healthy—Latent/Carrier—Sluggish—Stiffened; sluggish and stiffened are as Dexterity poison, stiffened is an end state
Cure 2 consecutive saves

Mindfire

Type disease, inhaled; Save Fortitude DC 12
Track mental; Frequency 1/day
Cure 2 consecutive saves

Mummy Rot

Type disease, injury; Save Fortitude DC 16
Tracks physical and mental (special); Frequency 1/day
Effect No latent/carrier state; victim suffers all penalties from progressing on both the physical and mental disease tracks
Cure remove curse and remove disease within 1 minute of each other

Red Ache

Type disease, injury; Save Fortitude DC 15
Track physical; Frequency 1/day
Cure 2 consecutive saves

Shakes

Type disease, contact; Save Fortitude DC 13
Track physical; Frequency 1/day
Cure 2 consecutive saves

Slimy Doom

Type disease, contact; Save Fortitude DC 14
Track physical; Frequency 1/day
Effect At the impaired state and beyond, penalties from the weakened state become permanent until the victim receives heal or restoration
Cure 2 consecutive saves

Sample Poisons

Source Pathfinder Unchained pg. 141
Examples of poisons that use the various tracks are given below. If a poison does not specify an effect, it imposes only the effects for the victim’s state on the pertinent track.

Black Lotus Extract

Type poison, contact; Save Fortitude DC 20
Track Constitution (special); Onset 1 minute; Frequency 1/round for 6 rounds
Track Healthy—Weakened—Disabled—Dead
Cure 2 consecutive saves

Blue Whinnis

Type poison, injury; Save Fortitude DC 14
Track Constitution (special); Frequency 1/round for 2 rounds
Effect Healthy—Weakened—Unconscious; no end state
Cure 1 save

Deathblade

Type poison, injury; Save Fortitude DC 20
Track Constitution; Frequency 1/round for 6 rounds
Cure 2 consecutive saves

Green Lotus

Type poison, contact; Save Fortitude DC 18
Track Charisma (special); Onset 1 minute; Frequency 1/round for 6 rounds
Track Healthy—Weakened—Impaired—Pliable—Pliable; the second pliable is an end state
Cure 1 save

Id Moss

Type poison, ingested; Save Fortitude DC 14
Track Intelligence; Onset 10 minutes; Frequency 1/minute for 6 minutes
Cure 1 save

Insanity Mist

Type poison, inhaled; Save Fortitude DC 15
Track Wisdom; Frequency 1/round for 6 rounds
Cure 1 save

Large Scorpion Venom

Type poison, injury; Save Fortitude DC 17
Track Strength; Frequency 1/round for 6 rounds
Cure 1 save

Small Centipede Poison

Type poison, injury; Save Fortitude DC 11
Track Dexterity; Frequency 1/round for 4 rounds
Track Requires two failed saves to progress to each state past sluggish
Cure 1 save

Ungol Dust

Type poison, inhaled; Save Fortitude DC 15
Track Charisma; Frequency 1/round for 4 rounds
Effect Victim does not recover past weakened without heal or restoration
Cure 1 save

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