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Lost Magic: Disease of Debauched Decadence

Lost Magic: Disease of Debauched Decadence

Lost Magic LogoThe following spell from our Lost Magic contest entries might just provide both adventurers and GMs with an interesting challenge. What will happen if it is used in a heavily populated area?

Take a peek, and provide any feedback you want regarding story elements and mechanical elements in the comments below!

Disease of Debauched Decadence

School enchantment (compulsion, chaos, evil); Level bard 5, wizard/sorcerer 6

Casting 1 standard action

Components V, S, M (a bottle of high quality liqueur worth at least 100 gp, a drop of demonic blood)

Range close (25 ft. +5 ft./2 levels)

Targets One creature/2 levels, none of which can be more then 30 feet away from each other

Duration 24 hours

Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes

Originally designed to soften up enemy cities and, in some cases, simply to cause untold havoc, this variant of the ancient dark spell causes those who fail their saving throws to suffer a dangerous lack of self-control, feel reckless, and have a strong desire to indulge in base activities. Even more crippling than this initial effect, each person who comes into contact with anyone who failed his or her save against this spell must roll a saving throw against the spell’s original DC or suffer the same effects; these new victims may continue to infect others.

Targets under the effects of this spell find their will and resolve weakened, taking 1d4 Wisdom damage. In addition, self-control and focus on any tasks other than self-indulgent ones become very difficult. This can be handled by rolling on the following table every hour or could be handled at the DM’s discretion. Note that this spell cannot change a creature’s basic alignment, and, although creatures may behave very badly, any choices that violate their alignments are their own while enthralled by this magic.

d%
01–15 Target acts normally.
16–40 Target is distracted but can otherwise function as normal (–2 to all skill checks).
41–75 Target feels an overwhelming urge to indulge one or more vices he or she possesses and attempts to do so while preforming the current task if able.
76–100 Target is consumed by hedonistic desire, and very little will stop him or her from seeking to indulge this desire.

This spell ends 24 hours after its casting or at dawn, whichever comes first. The victims of this spell remember their activities and actions while under its effect, and survivors have claimed to feel an effect not unlike a hangover.

1 thought on “Lost Magic: Disease of Debauched Decadence”

  1. Well, a few questions:

    What does “coming into contact with” mean in the case of this spell? Physical contact? Talking with the effected person? Passing within 5′ of an effected person? A precise definition would be useful.

    Can you be “infected” more than once? The spell reads “each person who comes into contact with anyone who failed his or her save against this spell must roll a saving throw against the spell’s original DC or suffer the same effects” this implies that one may suffer multiple “infections” which I assume is not the intent of the spell.

    An intriguing idea, and one that has much potential for scenario fodder, once those questions have been answered.

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