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Ogay.....I got a game where there's a differential diagnosis between a spider bite and an undead creature that causes paralysis as a cause for the p.c.'s seeming lack of ability to move.
My question is this: what exactly is the mechanism for the undead creature causing the paralysis: is it negative energy, or just some form of stress-induced catatonia?
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It is different for different Undead. For some, it is a form of curse or energy drain (of sorts) similar to necromatic fatigue or Exhaustion. For others, such as the Mohrg, it is probably some sort of chemical on the tongue, like a poison. I want to say the the Bozak had a paralyzing stare, which would be more of a fear/domintate affect. The Mummy has an area affect, that is moral and fear based.
All in all, it is probably best left up to the DM, though the type of attack (or action) should give a clue.
It could be a simple case of disease. Another possibility is the removal of heat and/or cold.
The wizard spell "Ghoul Touch" specifies that negative energy is used, so presumably that applies to an actual ghoul's touch as well (and likewise with a lich).
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It could be, but I wouldn't say in general for a few reasons. That is in the case when it doesn't say what it is and you just make it a disease for flavor. If it is a Disease normally, it will say that rather than Paralysis.
1.) If it isn't really a disease (and you are just flavoring it that way), PC's with immunity to Disease might get angry.
2.) Diseases take a long time to take affect (days), they are not immediate.
3.) Some creature types might have an immunity to what the paralysis is normally, (such as fear), and shouldn't be affected but could if it is a disease.
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The wizard spell "Ghoul Touch" specifies that negative energy is used, so presumably that applies to an actual ghoul's touch as well (and likewise with a lich).
I think this works as it grounds the whole phenomenon in some form of RAW precedence; it seemed intuitively to be the answer, just wasn't sure. The earth kinda intuitively looks flat.
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It is different for different Undead. For some, it is a form of curse or energy drain (of sorts) similar to necromatic fatigue or Exhaustion. For others, such as the Mohrg, it is probably some sort of chemical on the tongue, like a poison. I want to say the the Bozak had a paralyzing stare, which would be more of a fear/domintate affect. The Mummy has an area affect, that is moral and fear based.
All in all, it is probably best left up to the DM, though the type of attack (or action) should give a clue.
Spoiler for my game:
yeah; it's a mohrg, and though I think my party knows this from the description of "a tenghu skeleton with a lolling tongue, draped in a toga of it's own entrails," I kinda wanted there to be enough question
as to it's exact identity to make things interesting. I guess I was being kinda non-specific because the combat is in progress currently.
Dude got paralyzed by the mohrg, and now he has a "hastendeath" spider crawling on his buttock; it's from Richard Pett's Dungeon adventure called The Weavers--they crawl down your throat, lay eggs in your stomach, and these burst forth from there in a few days. I thought that coupled with a paralyzing undead foe would be good for the imperiling value....
my game spoiler:
EUREKA!!!!!!!
mwahahahaha.........
Some paralysis is psychosomatic. You're told you cannot move so persuasively that you believe it, and the body won't move - because you know you can't.