Need a disease

[Aneirin]

Hello. Have been trying to look around for a list of diseases to use but as has been highlighted in earlier topics, there aren't much (bio tech has some but they are very lethal ones)

I want to build a disease.

The PC's are going to a town, and at the town they find that there are a number of refugees outside of it. (it is TL3 setting).

Their is a famine, and the refugees are here because there is food, but no-one wants to let them in because there isn't much food. Plus the refugees are diseased.

I know the doctor PC will probably want to heal them. So what I want is a disease that will kill a large number of them, but with some medical care the PC will be able to save a good number and know he has made a difference.

He has anachrostic skill perk (so counts as TL4 for doctor stuff)

He has physician at 12 (quite a bit higher than that) so can look after 10 people (and give them a +1 to their HT rolls to resist)

He can also roll every three days to give them a hitpoint (so even if they fail their HT roll, he can try to keep them alive by giving them hitpoints)

Now, a few questions I was wondering you could help me with:-

A TL4 physician can take care of 10 patients. Could he try and take care of more (with a penalty to his physician score and the patients will no longer get a +1 to their HT roll to resist) as I plan on having around 50 refugees.

What stats should I give the disease?

What HT should I give the refugees? I was thinking 10, but give them a -1 or -2 modifier for the exhaustion and hunger so if they do get in the town and food distributed properly they will get a bonus to resist (although as others may be infected, more will have to resist and they will have to sort the food scarcity out)

And what modifier would you give for a doctor providing care? -2 to his HT roll daily to resist the disease for prolonged contact?

And finally what symptoms? Nausea? Anything more?

There is also a nefarious plot (some evil person has sent some refugees with a more virulent disease, if they do take care and diagnose the people, they will be able to find and isolate the ones with the very nasty disease and decide the best way to deal with them, otherwise lots will die and if they let them go into the town, loads will die). This isn't too evil is it?

[Aneirin]

And does anyone know a mass dice roller program (something that I can do roll 3d6 100 times and it tells me how many of those are above a certain number?)

That would be quite helpful in working out the lethality of a disease.

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by Aneirin

Hello.

Hey.

Originally Posted by Aneirin

[snip] I know the doctor PC will probably want to heal them. So what I want is a disease that will kill a large number of them, but with some medical care the PC will be able to save a good number and know he has made a difference. [snip]

Originally Posted by Aneirin

A TL4 physician can take care of 10 patients. Could he try and take care of more (with a penalty to his physician score and the patients will no longer get a +1 to their HT roll to resist) as I plan on having around 50 refugees.

I'd give a -1 to both the doctor's Physician roll and the patient's HT+1 roll per multiple of the base number of patients, personally. Unless this guy is very skilled, he or some of these people are screwed, but some of them will live.

Originally Posted by Aneirin

What stats should I give the disease?

Whatever you want? What would you like it to do to people? Diseases cover a really, really wide area, with all kinds of horrible and not-so-horrible symptoms.

Originally Posted by Aneirin

What HT should I give the refugees? I was thinking 10, but give them a -1 or -2 modifier for the exhaustion and hunger so if they do get in the town and food distributed properly they will get a bonus to resist (although as others may be infected, more will have to resist and they will have to sort the food scarcity out)

I'd assume an average HT of 10 when rolling for large groups unless they have a racial template or something that dictates a different average, and then give the survivors higher-than-average HT if it becomes important later, because that's why they were the survivors.

Originally Posted by Aneirin

And what modifier would you give for a doctor providing care? -2 to his HT roll daily to resist the disease for prolonged contact?

Depends on the level of contact required for treatment, and what manner of prophylactics are available.

Originally Posted by Aneirin

And finally what symptoms? Nausea? Anything more?

Go nuts. You can do all kinds of body horror without death or lasting damage if you want to.

Originally Posted by Aneirin

There is also a nefarious plot (some evil person has sent some refugees with a more virulent disease, if they do take care and diagnose the people, they will be able to find and isolate the ones with the very nasty disease and decide the best way to deal with them, otherwise lots will die and if they let them go into the town, loads will die). This isn't too evil is it?

Define "too evil" in this context...

[Nereidalbel]

Originally Posted by Aneirin

There is also a nefarious plot (some evil person has sent some refugees with a more virulent disease, if they do take care and diagnose the people, they will be able to find and isolate the ones with the very nasty disease and decide the best way to deal with them, otherwise lots will die and if they let them go into the town, loads will die). This isn't too evil is it?

Not at all. It would be historically accurate to launch the dead over the walls, in order to infect the people inside.

[Aneirin]

Maybe Typhoid fever for the minor disease, untreated it has around a 12-30 mortality rate over 3-4 weeks.

For the nastier one hidden among them, perhaps amoebic dysentry (has a 55%-88% mortality rate over 3-6 weeks)

Any idea how to build these two?

Both would have a vector of water food and stuff like that.

Tyhpoid fever, 1 toxic damage every day with 21 cycles (plus 1 for every point of failure) with a HT-3 to resist. One save and it is cured.

Dysentery...probably rather similar, 1 toxic damage every day with 35 cycles. HT-5?

Both have nauseated on first failure

When to 1/3 terrible pain for dysentery and moderate pain for Typhoid?

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Aneirin

Hello. Have been trying to look around for a list of diseases to use but as has been highlighted in earlier topics, there aren't much (bio tech has some but they are very lethal ones)

I want to build a disease.

The PC's are going to a town, and at the town they find that there are a number of refugees outside of it. (it is TL3 setting).

Their is a famine, and the refugees are here because there is food, but no-one wants to let them in because there isn't much food. Plus the refugees are diseased.

A plague means the town is never letting them in. It does not matter if they are cured, nobody will believe it, at least this year. These people are going to starve even if the PCs do manage to heal them all. The PCs aren't going to be allowed in this year either, once they've had contact with the plague victims they're contaminated too.

Also, running to a town in a low TL famine is rather stupid, since most people know the town runs out of food first. Generally largish numbers of low TL refugees running to a town are going to be looking for *walls*, because there are armies running around here, not food.

There is also a nefarious plot (some evil person has sent some refugees with a more virulent disease, if they do take care and diagnose the people, they will be able to find and isolate the ones with the very nasty disease and decide the best way to deal with them, otherwise lots will die and if they let them go into the town, loads will die). This isn't too evil is it?

It's an OK cinematic evil plot I suppose. But it requires both anachronistic knowledge (villain knows what diseases are more virulent and that sending people with them is a workable transmission vector) and some way to recognize people with this horrible disease before they get too sick to start a long trip - going anywhere is long trip at TL3 - or die on the way.

An in-period evil villain would hire (or be) an evil witch and try to send a plague via a magical curse. We know that doesn't work, and that sending carriers might, but nobody putting together an evil plot at TL3 should think that way.

[Aneirin]

Originally Posted by malloyd

A plague means the town is never letting them in. It does not matter if they are cured, nobody will believe it, at least this year. These people are going to starve even if the PCs do manage to heal them all. The PCs aren't going to be allowed in this year either, once they've had contact with the plague victims they're contaminated too.

Also, running to a town in a low TL famine is rather stupid, since most people know the town runs out of food first. Generally largish numbers of low TL refugees running to a town are going to be looking for *walls*, because there are armies running around here, not food.



It's an OK cinematic evil plot I suppose. But it requires both anachronistic knowledge (villain knows what diseases are more virulent and that sending people with them is a workable transmission vector) and some way to recognize people with this horrible disease before they get too sick to start a long trip - going anywhere is long trip at TL3 - or die on the way.

An in-period evil villain would hire (or be) an evil witch and try to send a plague via a magical curse. We know that doesn't work, and that sending carriers might, but nobody putting together an evil plot at TL3 should think that way.

It is the PC's town, (they are advisors to the Lord who pretty much does what ever they say by consensus) so it is entirely

up to the PC's whether they let them in. People inside may not be happy about it though!

And the PC's had managed to gets a head up on the famine, so they stockpiled a load of food (buying it from others) so they have enough food to last their town...there is peace at the moment and the walls are around the castle not the town. Maybe the PC's will order the soldiers to kill/run them off but that is there decision to make.

As for the disease transmission, may have some points. People certainly did use diseased corpses for biological warfare, however using living people is less documented (as far as I can tell). The way I was thinking was that the villain town had an outbreak and so forced out the people infected and their families, aiming them towards areas they didn't like and hoping something would catch. The initially infected die on the way but the others would be infected on the way. They would be moving as the only alternative is to starve in the wilderness.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Aneirin

There is peace at the moment and the walls are around the castle not the town.

In that case, what is keeping the refugees out? Why are they camped over there and not begging in the square, sleeping in the church, or sneaking in at night to try to steal food?

[Aneirin]

Originally Posted by malloyd

In that case, what is keeping the refugees out? Why are they camped over there and not begging in the square, sleeping in the church, or sneaking in at night to try to steal food?

Plot contrivance!

Full details, PC's have town, they went to a wedding in another persons lands. Journey time of a month away.

They annoyed people off at this wedding (mainly by one of the PC's marrying the wife instead of whom she was originally planning to marry!)

They have food no-one else does.

Whilst they are here, people from other neighbouring areas go to their house.

Their lands have a castle, a river, a small forest, a vinyard, a silver mine and a town.

They have an army there, they left most of it at home and took a few to the wedding.

Lord can't make decisions without the PC's he is hidebound (just so the PC's can be in charge but no PC's have too much power, he is there to agree to majority decisions)

So, army keeps the refugees, but just stalls them until PC's can get back and tell the Lord what to do.

Realistic? Perhaps not, but it is an rpg and there has to be some contrivance...other wise it is a medievil society and PC's would have virtually no control over anything that happens because that is what happened in medievil societies, no control over a lot, even kings were pretty much tied into the whims of nature and what their fiefs would agree to do.

[Aneirin]

By the way, I by no means mind criticism, and I am sure we could have a very in depth topic poking out all the holes in my campaign, there are bound to be loads and I could probably fill some of them in with people pointing them out. It is helpful.

However the topic is requesting for helps to build a disease, so if we could please keep answers to this topic on topic.