Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax May 26, 2004 2:56:39	I'm reading through the Fate of Istus and I can't seem to find where there is actually information on how the Red Death affects characters. I seem to recall reading something about the symptoms and effects, but I can't recall where. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
#2 bdpenney May 26, 2004 9:03:18	Ugh... Fate of Istus is a module that NEVER should have been released as written. Seriously, WG7: Castle Greyhawk was better thought-out and put together.... Anyway, with SERIOUS revision and a LOT of research using other Greyhawk materials you can put together a heck of an epic with this adventure. The Red Death Plague itself wasn't given a whole lot of attention from a player's standpoint for the simple reason that it was something that would be the end of players if they contracted it. In the first part of the adventure I believe the players happen across a cure (?), though I changed had this be a magical/alchemical concoction that allowed someone who contracted the plague to halt further deterioriation. This "halting" only went on for as long as the person got the mixture once each day. Miss a day and you had to make another Fort save. Yes, this concoction could halt the effect of the plague even before it inflicts damage upon a character. I allowed a Heal Check (DC: 20) for a character to determine if someone had contracted the plague, even if incubation had yet to be completed. Effects of the Red Death that already accumulated are not reversed by the concoction. They could -ONLY- be removed when the Red Death was cured, which is the whole purpose of the Fate of Istus campaign. Red Death Plague The Red Death Plague is an extraordinarily virulent ailment sent by Istus and administered by her servant Morgoroth to test the people of Oerth. It can be transmited at moderate proximity (up to 40') or by touch. Its visual symptoms include large red blotches appearing all over the infected's body, which eventually grow in size and join together, turning nearly the entire character's body a sickening scarlet hue. Coughing, vommeting, dizziness, joint ache, dementia, and decreased energy are physical symptoms of the Red Death. The Red Death eats away at every aspect of a person's mental and physical state, eventually slaying him after a agonizing period of horrific torment. Fort Save DC: 18 Incubation: 1 Day Damage: 1d6 to Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma. Special: The Red Death Plague is an incurable illness. It cannot be cured by any means magical or mundane. Anyone slain by the disease cannot be resurrected. Even clones fail, for the Red Death leaves a "Spiritual Imprint" on the character's soul, which shrivels and slays any clone it tries to inhabit.
#3 zombiegleemax May 26, 2004 10:29:20	Yeah I pretty much gutted this module. I ended up using the different adventures more like a book of lairs if I needed to run something in a particular city and otherwise just used it for the maps and city info. The whole Istus, oriental monks, what characters should survive in 2nd edition angle was pure dreck.
#4 zombiegleemax May 26, 2004 12:05:19	So what you guys are saying is that there is no real description of the disease's effect in the module? I'm about ready to come to that conclusion myself.