How do you deal with curses at low levels as GMs?

[Errenor]

On the one hand it's cool to have something which is hard to get rid of. On the other hand, each time characters are affected by some nasty curse I just have to introduce a way to get them a scroll of 4th rank Cleanse Affliction. And for cheap (or with instant compensation) as otherwise gold budget breaks if they even have the money. It's kind of annoying.
And I can't just leave a character mostly broken. Or simply dead. Don't think it's much fun.
Obviously it's for levels 1-6.

[NorrKnekten]

Typically through downtime with methods that allow for bonuses to the save. Or have an NPC offer the service for a favor.

I've previously seen plenty of scenarios where that becomes a sidequest such as bring some ghoul saliva so a vaccine can be made back when ghouls spread disease instead of curse. After all as far as I know its only removal that curses resist. giving bonuses to the victim's saves and waiting them out typically works just fine at those levels.

[Castilliano]

Have you seen many low-level curses that are sticky like that, needing magic to remove otherwise lasting indefinitely?

[NorrKnekten]

Castilliano wrote:

Have you seen many low-level curses that are sticky like that, needing magic to remove otherwise lasting indefinitely?

The legacy mummy's comes to mind. Level 5-6 monsters whose curses does exactly that.

[Castilliano]

NorrKnekten wrote:

Castilliano wrote:

Have you seen many low-level curses that are sticky like that, needing magic to remove otherwise lasting indefinitely?

The legacy mummy's comes to mind. Level 5-6 monsters whose curses does exactly that.

Yes, and quite notorious for it much like the Clay Golem's curse needing a (much) higher-level casting to remove. Narratively, I respect those, but mechanically they're a headache...which I suspect is why Paizo changed both. Played in a PFS scenario which pretty much guaranteed someone would be cursed, yet (unknown to us) also granted free removal by PFS rather than charging like normal. So yeah, much like advice says to add more treasure if you add a treasure-destroying monster a GM might feel obliged to cover the costs of rectifying any curses they plan to inflict. Depending on the tone at one's table that is.

[The Raven Black]

Might be time for a nice Ritual.

[Tridus]

You make something up, pretty much. There's no good RAW answer to curses at that level. Hire an NPC with the spell or the Break Curse feat, go find some rare flower that can cure it, etc.

[Errenor]

Castilliano wrote:

Have you seen many low-level curses that are sticky like that, needing magic to remove otherwise lasting indefinitely?

Well, not indefinitely. Actually, it's only new ghouls and wraith. I guess I'm easily annoyed :)

Old ghouls are harsh, but at least there are antiplagues, Treat Disease and 3rd rank Cleanse Affliction for diseases. There's nothing for pure curses (or it's something rare maybe).
So, both above examples are't indefinite, but neither players nor I were ready to gamble and see if characters would survive.

[NoxiousMiasma]

4th-rank cleanse affliction gets to counteract curses, and as someone doing a deep read-through of all of MC2, there's a fair few options for helpful creatures to seek out. Accept that getting cursed might delay your party for a while though, unless they've already got an appropriate group patron.

(shortlist of midlevel options: balisse (angel), quetz coatl, vicharamuni (naga), sphinx, theletos (archon), or zuishin (kami). Plenty of options to get a group entangled in extraplanar machinations, or stick with kami, sphinxes, or nagas to keep things closer to home!)

[NorrKnekten]

There are quite a few options that just give generic bonuses to saves, but they arent as available or applicable as Antiplague. And are typically dependent on the classes in the party.

I know the typical rule is that for afflictions with a long duration you cannot "Time" when the save happens. But one should be able to Repeat a Spell that gives bonuses or have an alchemist give Serene Mutagen or Affliction Suppressant every 10 minutes.

That would not help with the ghouls ofcourse but the ghoul curse I find to be totally managable as dying from from it is a voluntary risk.

(Better yet, even if they die nothing says the character is gone. but they are absolutely a ghoul now)

[Tactical Drongo]

Errenor wrote:

On the one hand it's cool to have something which is hard to get rid of. On the other hand, each time characters are affected by some nasty curse I just have to introduce a way to get them a scroll of 4th rank Cleanse Affliction. And for cheap (or with instant compensation) as otherwise gold budget breaks if they even have the money. It's kind of annoying.

And I can't just leave a character mostly broken. Or simply dead. Don't think it's much fun.
Obviously it's for levels 1-6.

If you are so worried about a remove curse thing eating through the finances, they might be a little tight in the first place

But, as other mentioned before, there are enough ways around it, even though most of them are more on the storytelling site.

The most typical way would be that the party is send on a quest to retrieve the ingredient by a magical alchemist or something.

Second most typical way would be to get a priest of sufficient level to heal the character, either for doing a quest to earn it, or owning the priest/church in question a favor.
There is also the Saerenrae Church which makes a point out of never turning someone away who needs healing. A curse might be not classical healing, but I am sure they would be willing to help if a priest is of sufficient level (or the quest might be just to go to a specific temple/monastery where a more advanced priest/mage is living)

Of course, Rituals are always an option, a specified ritual might even be easy to execute - finding the 'how to' and the ingredients in turn, might also be a sidequest.

Of course, there is the mostly organisatory measure to tell the gm 'I dont enjoy stories where my character is too much tied down by curses and the like, please consider how the enemies picked influence the adventure in the long term'