Need an clarification of the disease rules!

[Chorpa]

Hello!

I was writing an adventure and had a creature with Disease Carrier that infects through its bite. But when I was reading through the rules about disease on p.221 in BRP some question marks appeared over my head.

I have no problem with the minor diseases (bad cold or mild flu) since they are quite easy to understand.

But it's when I get to the section on the major diseases the confusion starts. So I just want to know if I have understood the rules correctly.

• For example it isn't clear if the POT of the disease is used for all the CON rolls or just a roll to see if you are exposed to the disease?
  
• Once you are exposed to a disease you make CON rolls until you succeed to set the severity of the illness if I have gotten it right.
  
• Once the severity of the disease have been set you make a CON rolls after the allotted time to recover and avoid further damage if I understand it correctly.
  

Sorry for these simple questions but just want to make sure I have understood the rules correctly.

Edited April 17, 2011 by Chorpa

[rust]

As I read it, you first determine with the resistance table whether the POT of

the disease overcomes the CON of the character, and if it does he is infected

and loses the first characteristic point, with the type of point lost depending

on the disease. The character then makes his usual recovery rolls, but each

time he fails his CON roll the severity of the disease increases by one step.

So, as I read it, there are no separate rolls to determine the severity of the

disease, it is determined through the failures of the normal recovery rolls.

[Chorpa]

The character then makes his usual recovery rolls, but each

time he fails his CON roll the severity of the disease increases by one step.

So, as I read it, there are no separate rolls to determine the severity of the

disease, it is determined through the failures of the normal recovery rolls.

This is one of the stuff I find a bit fussy. I have no problem doing it like this making the disease more aggressive for each failed roll. It's a bit unclear on if the CON rolls are the same as for the minor diseases that you start at CONx2 after the first week and then roll after the time of the severity have passed until you succeed with increased chance for each roll or do you continue to roll vs. POT?

Either way each failed roll roll increases the severity and shortens the time until next roll. Only thing I feel is strange about this is that all the major diseases take the same time to get serious.

Edited April 17, 2011 by Chorpa

[rust]

BRP does indeed have quite a few less clear parts, where decisions are left to

the referee because the rules are ambiguous. It sometimes shows that BRP is

more of a toolbox for the design of games than a single well defined game.

In the case of the major diseases it would not be difficult to introduce a little

variation by changing the times between the recovery rolls for the different dis-

eases, or by otherwise playing with the rolls. Just do what you think fits your

game best.

[GianniVacca]

If you read French, you may find the following useful:

http://www.basicrps.com/bazar/bazar01.pdf

[ORtrail]

Always fun to run stuff through Babel Fish which came up with the following when I translated the sidebar text:

Examples of diseases natural Cold Contagion: 60% VIR: 3 to 5 Frequency: 1 day Transmission: Air route, exposure direct with the germ Stage 1: INT-1 (loss of concentration) Seize up Contagion: 65% VIR: 4 to 8 Frequency: 2 days Transmission: Exposure to the germ, air route Stage 1: INT-1 (loss of concentration) Stage 2: INT-1, CON-1 Stage 3: Loss of 1 IDIOT per day

Gangrene Contagion: - VIR: 14 Frequency: 2 days Transmission: Infected wound Stage 1: CON-1, beginning of necroses Stage 2: CON/2, member necrosed Stage 3: Loss of 1 Idiot per day, member definitively lost (amputation necessary)

Plague Contagion: 80% VIR: 18 Frequency: 2 days Transmission: Punctures of chips of the rat black, direct exposure to the germ. Stage 1: CON-1 Stage 2: CON/2, APP-3 Stage 3: Loss of 2 IDIOT per day, be delirious Pulmonary plague Contagion: 90% VIR: 12 to 15 Frequency: 2 days Transmission: Air route, exposure direct with the bacillus Stage 1: CON/2 Stage 2: Loss of 1 IDIOT per day Stage 3: Died automatic

AIDS Contagion: - VIR: 15 Frequency: 6 months Transmission: blood, sexual relationships not protected, placental way Stage 1: CON-1 Stage 2: CON/2 Stage 3: Loss of 1 IDIOT per month Note: at the present time, one can, as well as possible, only stabilize the evolution of the AIDS, which remains incurable.

Leprosy Contagion: 5% VIR: 14 Frequency: 6 months Transmission: salivate and body secretions. Stage 1: APP-3 Stage 2: APP/2, DEX-1 Note: A person carrying the bacillus 5% of chance have to declare per annum disease.

Cholera Contagion: 50% VIR: 7 Frequency: 4 days Transmission: Direct exposure to bacterium (food, dry rétions) Stage 1: Diarrhoeas Stage 2: Idiot-2, dehydration Stage 3: Loss of 1 IDIOT per hour

Is is really so bad to lose 1 IDIOT per hour though?

[ORtrail]

Now some Fantasy Diseases:

Fantastic examples of diseases

Gobelinism Contagion: - VIR: 13 Frequency: 1 week Transmission: Bite or scratch of a mad goblin Stage 1: APP-3, TAI-1 Stage 2: TAI-3, INT-3 Stage 3: TAI/2, INT/2 Stage 4: idem stage 3, but irreversible The patient reached of gobelinism changes little with little in goblin. If it is not not neat in time (by the use of certain plants marshes), the transformation is irreversible.

Plague Violet Contagion: 80% VIR: 30 Frequency: 1 day Transmission: Contact physics with a carrier of virus Stage 1: Pigmentation Stage 2: The patient speaks with a voice nasillarde The plague violet is not dangerous, but its tenacity fact that it generally causes a wave of panic in the populations attacks. Certain people consider even the purple one like a color taboo, fearing that it brings disease.

Which gallops paralysis Contagion: - VIR: 10 Frequency: 1 week Transmission: Puncture of wasp-stone Stage 1: DEX/2 Stage 2: -1 DEX per day (irreversible). Armour 1 The wasp-stones are carrying a bacterium which settle in the organization and fixes the biogenic salts, what paralysis little by little muscles of the victim. If it is not neat with time, the damage is irreversible, but the subject gain a skin extremely resistant.

[ORtrail]

The rest of the article:

The Contagion represents the chances that an individual is reached by a virus at the time of a normal epidemic. It is of course about a median value being able to vary according to the cases: by example, at the beginning of an epidemic, the chances to be reached are less important. Contrary, insalubrity can largely increase the score of Contagion. Certain diseases are not caught that under conditions well particular, and thus do not have score of Contagion.

But to be touched by a virus does not want not to say that the disease is declared: the organization can resist and overcome the virus before it develops. It is there that the characteristic of Virulence of the disease intervenes. To determine if a character is reached by the disease, made a test of opposition between its IDIOT and the Virulence of the disease. If it fails, it is reached.

The Stages of diseases can be more or less numerous, and each stage represents a degree of aggravation of the disease. When a character is sick, it must make a test of opposition of its IDIOT against the VIR of the disease, and it is the result of this test which determines the evolution of the evil. One carries out these tests with intervals regular, determined by Successful test: The disease is stabilized. If the followed test is successful again, the disease regresses of a stage ( health of the character improves). If it were at the first stage of the disease, the character is cured.

Missed test: The disease worsens and reaches the following stage (to less better sure that it is not already at its most advanced stage).

Competence Grass & Potions (which also can, according to the universe, to be called Pharmacy, Bled, Apothecary, Medicine…) allows to influence the evolution of a disease. The interval between each attempt is the Frequency of the disease. Grass & Potions Missed test: The care does not have any effect on the evolution of the disease. Successful test: The care makes regress the disease of a stage. awkwardness: The care makes worsen the health condition of the patient (reaction allergic, bad posology…) and the disease reaches the following stage.

Or I should say the rest of the first part of the PDF.

Edited April 17, 2011 by ORtrail

[rust]

Stage 2: The patient speaks with a voice nasillarde The plague violet is not dangerous, but its tenacity fact that it generally causes a wave of panic in the populations attacks.

Ah, yes - the population panics because the patient speaks in a nasal voice, a

completely understandable reaction ...

[canology]

I wrote up this little pamphlet for use with MRQ a few years back, but should be usable with BRP with little trouble. It is a bit more detailed than the standard disease rules.

Disease for RuneQuest.pdf

I will probably convert it to BRP soon, since I don't play with MRQ anymore...

[GianniVacca]

Of course VIR is French for POT

[evangineer]

On 4/18/2011 at 12:52 AM, canology said:

I wrote up this little pamphlet for use with MRQ a few years back, but should be usable with BRP with little trouble. It is a bit more detailed than the standard disease rules.

 

Disease for RuneQuest.pdf

 

I will probably convert it to BRP soon, since I don't play with MRQ anymore...

Getting "Access Denied" while trying to download. 

Does anybody have a copy or suggestion for an alternative location to download from?