beneficial bestow curse

[Cakeking]

would it be too lenient to let a players use bestow curse on themselves to make their skin taste horrible so animals wont try to eat them? or if they do they will vomit?

They came up with the idea when a dinosaur swallowed one of them

[Matthew Downie]

It would have to be something that felt like a curse, I think. For example, a terrible smell that discourages predators, but also harms your diplomacy skills.

[blackbloodtroll]

There is the Bitter Armor property that does that.

A Curse should not work as a +1 armor enchantment.

[darkwarriorkarg]

No, but you could curse the dinosaur.

[blackbloodtroll]

Making someone taste delicious would be a better curse.

Like the Ghoran race.

[Cakeking]

what if it did have drawbacks like matthew suggested, like having all starting attitudes one lower, or -5 or 10 to diplomacy?

[VRMH]

Matthew Downie wrote:

It would have to be something that felt like a curse, I think.

Having a horribly-tasting skin would seriously stymie your sex-life...

[blackbloodtroll]

Basically, you are giving someone a defense mechanism that some species have developed or generations.

What you want is a constant stinking cloud effect that follows the PC around, effecting everyone, friend, or foe.

[Cakeking]

thank you all for the advice

[Snorter]

I have to applaud their ingenuity, but it seems to me like it would be opening the door to a lot of abuse.

Load up your spell slots (or buy a wand), with spells that can be used in offence or defence, with effects tailored on the fly.
Or just for getting round any awkward obstacle?

"Wouldn't it be an awful burden, to be cursed with the head of a fish?" <cast>
<goes diving for sunken treasure>

It's already an Omni-Attack spell, as it is. Making it the Omni-AttackDefenceandUtilitySpell is going a bit far.

See also THIS

[lemeres]

I would make it so that animals, even familiars and animal companions of the party, would be repulsed by them. Make having a mount near impossible.

Also, let anything with the scent ability notice them from a mile away. This means that intelligent enemies could easily predict when they are coming. That would balance things out a bit.

[blackbloodtroll]

Awesome Curses are things Oracles get.

Not something from a debuff spell.

[Cheapy]

Developer commentary on this.

Spoiler alert: no.

[Choon]

Cheapy wrote:

Developer commentary on this.

Spoiler alert: no.

My horrible proposal has been cited! There's a check on the bucket list.

But, ya, already proposed something way worse than this, but the answer is still the same. Curses should never bestow any kind of bonus.

[Grinning Imp]

Although "Bestow Curse" wouldn't allow PCs to solve the problem of being eaten, there is also the option of allowing for spell research. The players could custom create a spell to produce the desired effect.
I remember that in the "Spell Compendium" for DnD 3.5 there was a spell called "Horrible Taste" which seems to be exactly what the PCs want.