Question about curses

[OXHawkXO]

I have a question mainly for the DM's, but I put here because I'm hoping to hear from all the great players out there that would be kind enough to weigh in with there opinions on this matter. My question is this, what would be the best way to represent a character with a curse? Not one that can be removed with the remove curse spell. Something like the old D&D gold box game The Curse of the Azure Bonds. Would describing it in the bio be sufficient?

Thanks in advance!

[Steve]

What kinda curse we talkin' bout?


Imagine the Loss of Gear curse...*shudders*

[Hoihe]

The easiest way to go around people casting Remove Curse at you is to have the source of the curse have a higher CL than whatever players can achieve.

More creative solutions work like Mummy Rot, where the cure requires multiple things to be true at the same time and done in the right order at the time of the casting to fix it.

The final method is to go with magical scarring, which are effectively permanent (although fixable with enough creativity).

[DM Echo]

Curse of babel.. You can't control what language you speak at any given time.. rolling randomly to decide which of your languages you speak for the next few mins or something.. Sometimes even speaking incoherent babel. Perhaps you were cursed for spreading an embarrassing secret that someone wanted you to stay quiet about.. Just a funny thought.. :p

[NegInfinity]

I have a question mainly for the DM's, but I put here because I'm hoping to hear from all the great players out there that would be kind enough to weigh in with there opinions on this matter. My question is this, what would be the best way to represent a character with a curse? Not one that can be removed with the remove curse spell. Something like the old D&D gold box game The Curse of the Azure Bonds. Would describing it in the bio be sufficient?

Thanks in advance!

I wouldn't even mention that in a bio and let the people figure that out via interactions.

If you have a curse on you, emote it, act on it, etc. Putting it in the bio? Nah.

[Kayan]

I wouldn't even mention that in a bio and let the people figure that out via interactions.

If you have a curse on you, emote it, act on it, etc. Putting it in the bio? Nah.

+1

Nothing seems sillier to me than when people put things in their character descriptions that are unknowable simply by looking at the character. The descriptions are just that, and not a full history or bio like you might find in the character forums. When I click on you, I want to know what your blocky 3D paper doll looks like that the game can't show me, not how your sister was killed by orcs when you were 12 and you vowed vengeance against all orcs...

As for the curse, you could think about real life mental illnesses. Without knowledge of what's really going on, they could look an awful lot like curses, so that could work well. OCD, retrograde or interograde amnesia, dissociative identity disorder, or schizophrenia come to mind. The best kinds of curses are the ones where the effects of the curse make it incredibly difficult for the curse's victim to break the curse of their own power and similarly difficult for them to make or maintain friends who might break it for them.

[TarnishedSoul]

Not to rain on any parades, but can these sort of things be done without DM approval considering the "play what's on your character sheet" rule?

[Rhifox]

Not to rain on any parades, but can these sort of things be done without DM approval considering the "play what's on your character sheet" rule?

Not all curses are stat-based.

[[DM] Seren]

I wouldn't even mention that in a bio and let the people figure that out via interactions.

If you have a curse on you, emote it, act on it, etc. Putting it in the bio? Nah.

+1

Nothing seems sillier to me than when people put things in their character descriptions that are unknowable simply by looking at the character. The descriptions are just that, and not a full history or bio like you might find in the character forums. When I click on you, I want to know what your blocky 3D paper doll looks like that the game can't show me, not how your sister was killed by orcs when you were 12 and you vowed vengeance against all orcs...
.

Regarding this, from DM Seren's own opinion

It would be most appreciated to include everything important about your character in their forum biography. If you do not wish it to be metagamed or other reasons of privacy, send the DM team the full biography and publish the censored one. If you really want to be secretive, I guess you could PM it to the HDMs for approval and review.

This includes special NPC relations (living family, houses owned, reputation in certain places), special heritages, special character traits not represented by the character sheet.

For the in game "biography", I have always wished it was renamed to "physical description".

[grymhild]

Greater Bestow Curse

Hidden: show

Greater Bestow Curse Transmutation
Source: Complete Divine
Level: Bard 6, Cleric 7, Sorcerer/Wizard 8
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

The spellcaster places a curse on the creatures touched, choosing one of the the following three effects.

• One ability score is reduced to 1,
• or two ability scores suffer -6 penalties (minimum 1).
• –8 penalty on attack rolls, saves, ability checks, and skill checks.
• Each turn, the target has a 25% chance to act normally; otherwise, it takes no action.
• You may also invent your own curse, but it should be no more powerful than those described above, and the DM has final say on the curse's effect.

The greater curse bestowed by this spell cannot be dispelled, nor can it be removed with a break enchantment, limited wish, or remove curse spell. A miracle or wish spell removes the greater curse, but each greater curse also must have a single means of removing it with some deed that the spellcaster designates. The deed must be something that the subject can accomplish within one year (assuming he undertakes it immediately).

For example, the deed might be "slay the dragon under Castle Bluecraft," or "climb the tallest mountain in the world." The cursed victim can have help accomplishing the task.

[Kayan]

Not to rain on any parades, but can these sort of things be done without DM approval considering the "play what's on your character sheet" rule?

If the curse is purely behavior-affecting, which falls entirely upon the player to RP, then I don't see why DM approval would be needed. Technically speaking, the player could potentially RP the entirety of the curse and whatever it takes to "break" the curse, including involving other players, without ever involving a DM if it's done completely through what players can accomplish on their own.

[OXHawkXO]

Thanks for your input. Lots of good stuff here. I think I have enough to get me started.