Same Disease - Multiple Sources


Rules Questions


Playing a game in which there are many ghouls. Let's assume that one character is bitten multiples times. The character fails his initial save each time. He now has ghoul fever and will need to make subsequent saves to fight it off.
Questions:
If he is infected by 3 different ghouls, same DC save, will he need to make 3 rolls per day?
If he is infected 3 times (failed save 3 times)by the same ghoul, will he need to make 3 saves per day?

Game mechanics tell me each failed save means another subsequent save is required for each failed infection save.

Real-life tells me either you got the disease or you don't and repeated infection save failures are irrelevant: you got the disease and need to make one roll for it.

I am more inclined toward the game mechanic theory, but wanted to see if their were further clarification on this.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

This is what your looking for Sir

"Unlike other afflictions, multiple doses of the same poison “stack,” meaning that successive doses combine to increase the poison's DC and duration."

By inference stacking only applies to Poisons and since disease are an affliction they do not stack.

so once your infected that's it, single infection with requirements to roll the unmodified saves as listed in the disease effect line.

Scarab Sages

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Righter8 wrote:

Playing a game in which there are many ghouls. Let's assume that one character is bitten multiples times. The character fails his initial save each time. He now has ghoul fever and will need to make subsequent saves to fight it off.

Questions:
If he is infected by 3 different ghouls, same DC save, will he need to make 3 rolls per day?
If he is infected 3 times (failed save 3 times)by the same ghoul, will he need to make 3 saves per day?

Game mechanics tell me each failed save means another subsequent save is required for each failed infection save.

Real-life tells me either you got the disease or you don't and repeated infection save failures are irrelevant: you got the disease and need to make one roll for it.

I am more inclined toward the game mechanic theory, but wanted to see if their were further clarification on this.

Diseases are a bit lame in this game. He'd save each time (same DC), until infected. Once infected, he's immune to further infection.

Two notable bits on diseases:

First, infection DC is con based if disease is transmitted via a creature. This is covered in the universal monster rules. 10+Con+half HD to infect, we use the normal rulebook DC for each save once the character is infected. If the spell contagion is used, the initial save uses the spell DC and it is very notable that the onset time is ignored for the contagion spell's disease.

Second, PC is unlikely to know they are diseased until after the onset. Exception if opponent is commonly diseased (like Dire Rats with Filth Fever, though you'd still need knowledge nature to know this).

Diseases in this game, unlike poisons, last until you save them or die trying. They don't have a set duration, like poison.


Murdock Mudeater wrote:
Diseases are a bit lame in this game. He'd save each time (same DC), until infected. Once infected, he's immune to further infection.

Just to clarify, this is just while the character is still afflicted, right? In other words, the character is no longer immune to that disease once cured (this is what it seems to be by reading the rules, but I didn't know if there was a cite from somewhere that would change that).

Scarab Sages

slitherrr wrote:
Murdock Mudeater wrote:
Diseases are a bit lame in this game. He'd save each time (same DC), until infected. Once infected, he's immune to further infection.
Just to clarify, this is just while the character is still afflicted, right? In other words, the character is no longer immune to that disease once cured (this is what it seems to be by reading the rules, but I didn't know if there was a cite from somewhere that would change that).

Yeah. Basically, he can only be diseased once per disease. He can certainly catch it again, right after he loses it, but it doesn't stack. If you cure and do catch it again, you'd still need a fresh onset time.

A character can certainly have multiple DIFFERENT diseases on him at the same time.

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder First Edition / Rules Questions / Same Disease - Multiple Sources All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.