Doom wrote:I don't have my DMG with me right now...but it's towards the front. You've got acute and chronic diseases, and many, many types.
Ah yes, random diseases/parasitic infections, like i thought. Like getting diphtheria and such form just conditions of the times and stuff.
Not really a bad thing, but allows people to use those if they want that level of reality in the game
"Each month you
may wish to check...."
And some did want them enough to create the netbooks of diseases, carnal knowledge, poisons, herbs, etc.
Its the things NPCs die from, so was included simply so you could apply it to PCs as well.
Something I actually like that the PCs are just people in the world, the thing that distinguishes them from others is that they are the protagonists, and go on the adventures and do things to shape the world, rather than stay at home, but are in part subject to the same things as everyone else, just have some better means to protect against them.
It means the PCs are special because they made the choice to be so, by adventuring they set themselves apart form the rest in a manner to do so, but are still just like everyone else in all other aspects. They aren't born the son of Zeus and are a demigod, but normal people that just aspired to be more and went after it taking the same risks and more as everyone else.
Its like random weather effects is also missing from second for the most part.
One thing I think many people should remember is that with the exception of 4th edition, and in part inclusion of it; most editions build on things of past editions thinking people are familiar with them to be able to include the parts left out from a previous edition like these diseases if needed.
Newer people are lost with them because they can see them as not present since they are not present in the books at hand and don't have access to the previous editions to tell things things do, did, or can exist.
So I think removing stuff about them may have been a bad thing. NWPs as a totally optional chapter was a bit of a waste, where it could have just detailed to players that things may be present such as NWP, diseases, weather conditions, etc and put a system in the DMG if needed to handle these things.
Like moving the attack matrices to the PHB in the form of THAC0 as mentioned, but not properly explaining it or how to use it, but just in part of "full disclosure" of the inner workings of the system.