Looking at disease strictly from a medical perspective its any abnormal condition affecting the body, but usually we use this to refer to infectious disease, microscopic pathogens, invaders, parasites. There's an inherent mass hysteria that dawns in the wake of an epidemic. Rationality breakdown in the face of a fear you cannot see or fight.
In the wake of the Black Death European's blamed everything from the wrath of God to Jews thought to be "poisoning wells", eventually murdering whole Jewish communities. A cult offshoot of Catholicism calling itself the Brotherhood of Flagellants achieved a membership in the tens of thousands and inadvertently spread the plague in the process of proselytizing their message of penance. They performed a daily rituals beginning with a reading of a letter delivered by an "angel" and concluding with Geisslerlieder, or flagellation songs, where cultists sung and scourged themselves until they bled.
That's just one disease, Cornu Cutaneum is a tumorous growth of horns on the victim. Polyglandular Addison's Disease is a hormonal dysfunction that causes the body to go into shock when confronted with a flight or fight situation. A suffer can literally be scared to death. People born with progeria age at an accelerated rate often dying when most of us would be entering puberty.
Disease in the world of darkness old and new tend toward to be the over the top conditions which result in situations such as Stephen King's the Stand or the Walking Dead. Zombies and apocalypses or zombie apocalypses.
But what makes disease terrifying is that it is subversive, that is it turns the body against you. And what are you going to do when you know, for a fact, the person standing beside you is infected. They aren't the person you knew, now they are a carrier. Or maybe they aren't and its you with the disease telling you otherwise.
This is a scenario designed primarily with Werewolf the Forsaken in mind but as always I try to keep it modular.
The Scourge of Clay
Professor Hoshiko Wakahisa grew up listening to tales from her grandparents of life within one of America's War Relocation Centers. Her interests in World War II shaped her studies in college eventually leading her to pursue a career in recceology, battlefield archaeology. On a recent university trip to Heilongjiang province in China the field study uncovered a village all but destroyed in the wake of the Japanese invasion of mainland China. The trip was a trying experience that forced her for the first time to confront prejudice and in her own way the war face to face. When Hoshiko returned to the States it was with a dull white earthen clay sphere, a piece of unoriginal folk art. At least that is what she believes, in reality the sphere is a bomb. In the real world ShirÅ Ishii used the local Chinese as subjects in his experiments into biological weapons for the Empire of Japan, in the World of Darkness group Unit 9413 engaged in similar pursuits, attempting to breed newer deadlier virus. The bomb itself was a thing of vision, admired by the men who created it, painstakingly crafted by the engineers who put it together, it was designed for maximum dispersal, but never released and buried in the earth a spirit was born.
Kokushibyou though hidden and starved the attention which had served to birth it, slipped into a long slumber. Its woken infected Hoshiko and Josiah Rodriguez a local firetouched who has communed with the spirit. In his infected state he's had visions of a world where the Forsaken cannot hide among men any longer and believes erroneously that the Pure will remain protected by Rabid Wolf.
The plague of prey can be brought on through the use of the Kokushibyou's Numina or transmitted from one who is already sickened to at least stage 4. If a Urathra (or other being capable of catching it) is targeted directly by the Numina Plague of Clay then the target loses the +3 resistance bonus.
If the disease takes hold it takes a full day before the first stage of symptoms appear and advanced to the next each 24 hour period. At five days the victim becomes highly contagious, just how contagious is left in the hands of the storyteller. Although a rule of thumb is anyone who spends more than a scene in the company of the victim should be forced to roll for resistance. Each penalty levied by the disease is cumulative.
In the first stage,stiffness sets in around the neck and groin, providing a -1 penalty on any Dexterity based rolls, as well as any other rolls which involved extended concentration. The feeling is like that of an oncoming flu, however the Urathra will experience literal swelling around the neck, armpits, and groin as well as a -2 dice to any Shapeshifting rolls.
On the second day the victim will experience a high fever and regular vomiting. Levying a -2 penalty on all Wits based rolls (treat Wits as 2 less than its value for calculating Defense). Urathra experience the same high fever however much more acutely any Shapeshifting costs 1 additional point of Essence as it is "vomited" out.
The Third stage the disease takes beginning to weaken the suffers spiritual connection to their body and areas of their skin become painful to the touch.This inflicts no actual damage but is taxing on the subjects causing them to no longer regain willpower through normal rest. A Urathra will find his body in any form develop dark patches of tissue seemingly at random and painful to the touch.
When the disease reaches the fourth day it has so rotted the connection between the body and spirit that a mortal victim begins to lose one point of willpower every 12 hours, when the victim has run out of willpower the damage becomes lethal. This is experienced as painful trembling, seizure, muscle spasms and uncontrollable shaking. Urthra on the other hand find themselves on a hair trigger, experiencing pain each time they Shapeshift, as well as uncontrollable animal like behaviors, such as low growling, spastic snapping of their jaws, scratching or clawing and the like. All of this causes the werewolf to be unable to shapeshift reflexively, the process becomes drawn out and painful taking at least a full action even when spending essence and causing one point of lethal damage upon assuming the shape, regeneration applies normally.
Finally the last stage of the disease the body literally rots from within mortals experience this as ghostly 'sores' and may experience hallucinations of pustules which burst forth. In reality they die of organ failure with no clear indication as to why. Werewolves who experience this cannot manage their shapeshifting as before, each level from Hisu, Dalu, Gauru, Ursaul, to Urhan be passed through in order to reach the shape of their choosing. Furthermore each form exhibits sickly black tumorous mange, even in Hisu. For example if a character wishes to reach Gauru from Hisu he must spend 2 actions, spending at least 2 essence, and taking 2 lethal to do so. A character who has exhausted his turns in Gauru form returns to Dalu (or if he wishes Ursaul) without damage, but must take another action to return to Hisu or Urhan.
The Cure: This lasts for a number of days equal to the Spirits Power (7), usually this is fatal. That being said the Kokushibyou can end the disease at will and must if the character's learn of its Ban. Acupuncture given by a survivor of a terrible disease (see: life threatening) is also a reliable cure however it requires at least 12 successes on extended Intelligence + Medicine roll. Without a specialty in acupuncture or Chinese medicine treat this roll as unskilled.
Werewolves could easily find themselves embellished in a bidding war with a local historic society at the late professors estate sale. The disease could reach such epidemic proportions as to quarantine the county and if the character's are infected they are sure to raise some alarm once the CDC gets involved. The players could be shapeshifters of another stripe or wolf-blooded who find they are immune.
Kokushibyou though hidden and starved the attention which had served to birth it, slipped into a long slumber. Its woken infected Hoshiko and Josiah Rodriguez a local firetouched who has communed with the spirit. In his infected state he's had visions of a world where the Forsaken cannot hide among men any longer and believes erroneously that the Pure will remain protected by Rabid Wolf.
Kokushibyou
Rank:3
Attributes:Power 7, Finesse 8, Resistance 4
Willpower:15
Essence:20
Initiative:12
Defense:8
Speed:25
Size:5
Corpus:9
Influences: Disease 3
Numina: Claim, Chain of Death, Corpse Ride, Dement, Desiccation, Discorporation, Fetter, Gauntlet Breach, Plague of Clay
Ban: Cannot harm anyone who has consumed mugwort or been treated through Moxibustion.
Attributes:Power 7, Finesse 8, Resistance 4
Willpower:15
Essence:20
Initiative:12
Defense:8
Speed:25
Size:5
Corpus:9
Influences: Disease 3
Numina: Claim, Chain of Death, Corpse Ride, Dement, Desiccation, Discorporation, Fetter, Gauntlet Breach, Plague of Clay
Ban: Cannot harm anyone who has consumed mugwort or been treated through Moxibustion.
Plague of Clay
The disease uses the rules presented in World of Darkness: Book of Spirits for shadow sickness.
Resistance Number:12
Werewolves could find themselves embellished in a bidding war at the late estate of the professor. The disease could force the county into a quarantine with the arrival of the CDC a group of clearly ill people or mangy animals could be some cause of concern. The player character's could be shapeshifters or wolf blooded who despite other 'inferiority' to the People could be the only one's who could save them.
The disease uses the rules presented in World of Darkness: Book of Spirits for shadow sickness.
Resistance Number:12
Werewolves could find themselves embellished in a bidding war at the late estate of the professor. The disease could force the county into a quarantine with the arrival of the CDC a group of clearly ill people or mangy animals could be some cause of concern. The player character's could be shapeshifters or wolf blooded who despite other 'inferiority' to the People could be the only one's who could save them.
The plague of prey can be brought on through the use of the Kokushibyou's Numina or transmitted from one who is already sickened to at least stage 4. If a Urathra (or other being capable of catching it) is targeted directly by the Numina Plague of Clay then the target loses the +3 resistance bonus.
If the disease takes hold it takes a full day before the first stage of symptoms appear and advanced to the next each 24 hour period. At five days the victim becomes highly contagious, just how contagious is left in the hands of the storyteller. Although a rule of thumb is anyone who spends more than a scene in the company of the victim should be forced to roll for resistance. Each penalty levied by the disease is cumulative.
In the first stage,stiffness sets in around the neck and groin, providing a -1 penalty on any Dexterity based rolls, as well as any other rolls which involved extended concentration. The feeling is like that of an oncoming flu, however the Urathra will experience literal swelling around the neck, armpits, and groin as well as a -2 dice to any Shapeshifting rolls.
On the second day the victim will experience a high fever and regular vomiting. Levying a -2 penalty on all Wits based rolls (treat Wits as 2 less than its value for calculating Defense). Urathra experience the same high fever however much more acutely any Shapeshifting costs 1 additional point of Essence as it is "vomited" out.
The Third stage the disease takes beginning to weaken the suffers spiritual connection to their body and areas of their skin become painful to the touch.This inflicts no actual damage but is taxing on the subjects causing them to no longer regain willpower through normal rest. A Urathra will find his body in any form develop dark patches of tissue seemingly at random and painful to the touch.
When the disease reaches the fourth day it has so rotted the connection between the body and spirit that a mortal victim begins to lose one point of willpower every 12 hours, when the victim has run out of willpower the damage becomes lethal. This is experienced as painful trembling, seizure, muscle spasms and uncontrollable shaking. Urthra on the other hand find themselves on a hair trigger, experiencing pain each time they Shapeshift, as well as uncontrollable animal like behaviors, such as low growling, spastic snapping of their jaws, scratching or clawing and the like. All of this causes the werewolf to be unable to shapeshift reflexively, the process becomes drawn out and painful taking at least a full action even when spending essence and causing one point of lethal damage upon assuming the shape, regeneration applies normally.
Finally the last stage of the disease the body literally rots from within mortals experience this as ghostly 'sores' and may experience hallucinations of pustules which burst forth. In reality they die of organ failure with no clear indication as to why. Werewolves who experience this cannot manage their shapeshifting as before, each level from Hisu, Dalu, Gauru, Ursaul, to Urhan be passed through in order to reach the shape of their choosing. Furthermore each form exhibits sickly black tumorous mange, even in Hisu. For example if a character wishes to reach Gauru from Hisu he must spend 2 actions, spending at least 2 essence, and taking 2 lethal to do so. A character who has exhausted his turns in Gauru form returns to Dalu (or if he wishes Ursaul) without damage, but must take another action to return to Hisu or Urhan.
The Cure: This lasts for a number of days equal to the Spirits Power (7), usually this is fatal. That being said the Kokushibyou can end the disease at will and must if the character's learn of its Ban. Acupuncture given by a survivor of a terrible disease (see: life threatening) is also a reliable cure however it requires at least 12 successes on extended Intelligence + Medicine roll. Without a specialty in acupuncture or Chinese medicine treat this roll as unskilled.
Werewolves could easily find themselves embellished in a bidding war with a local historic society at the late professors estate sale. The disease could reach such epidemic proportions as to quarantine the county and if the character's are infected they are sure to raise some alarm once the CDC gets involved. The players could be shapeshifters of another stripe or wolf-blooded who find they are immune.
Or the entire story could be turned on its head with a Cell of Hunters. Did TFV find the biological weapon following mop up operations in the Pacific circa 1945? Has Chiron Group been perfecting this virus into a discrete weapon in the laboratories of National Center for Emerging and Zoologic Infectious Diseases? Or is the Pure Josiah really a member of Les Mysteres releasing the plague to end the danger of the Forsaken? In any case a cell has some tough calls to make, do they allow the disease to take root among a race, even a race of monsters? Do they try to treat the innocent while ignoring the enemy? Or is biological warfare, any biological warfare just too much of a price to pay?
