Curses | Tempting Curses | Diseases | Item Curses


Tempting Curses

Source Dark Archive pg. 162
There is a cruel logic to most curses, which torment their victims in ways that speak to their misdeeds. Each curse becomes a cautionary tale of the price of bad behavior returned threefold. The thief's pockets sag under the weight of stolen goods. The stench of death follows the grave robber. However, not all curses start with a punishment; some present a tempting offer instead, promising power in exchange for an ever-tightening hold, eventually making the curse irresistible.

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Thief's BurdenCurse 1

Legacy Content

Rare Curse Magical Transmutation 
Source Dark Archive pg. 162
This ward placed on valuables aims to bog down thieves and prevent them from fleeing.

Saving Throw DC 15 Fortitude; Effect This curse causes stolen items to weigh you down. While the curse is in effect, you treat any stolen items you carry as 1 Bulk heavier. This increase in Bulk remains in effect until the curse is lifted or the item is returned to its owner.
Tempted Curse Your pockets weigh you down as you dream of filling them with riches. You are encumbered, but you double your total maximum carrying capacity.

Unraveling SkinCurse 5

Legacy Content

Rare Curse Magical Necromancy 
Source Dark Archive pg. 162
Often used to protect ancient tomes, this curse causes your skin to shed like weathered paper, cracking and bleeding at the slightest touch.

Saving Throw DC 20 Fortitude; Effect Seeping wounds cover your body as this curse makes your skin brittle. Any time you would gain the wounded condition, increase the value by 1. Any time you take bleed damage, increase the amount of damage by 1.
Tempted Curse Your skin falls from your body and exposes your raw flesh beneath, but the curse holds your flesh together as its magic increases. You gain resistance to persistent bleed damage equal to half your level and are doomed 1.

Boastful Prince's ScourgeCurse 7

Legacy Content

Rare Curse Magical Polymorph Transmutation 
Source Dark Archive pg. 162
Used as a punishment against the vain or the arrogant, this curse slowly transforms you into a frog in not just body, but mind as well.

Saving Throw DC 23 Will; Effect Your features slowly morph into that of a frog's as you grow a prominent vocal sac. You gain the amphibious trait and can breathe both air and water. You are stupefied 1 as long as you are under the effect of this curse, and you can't reduce your stupefied value below 1.
Tempted Curse You transform fully, as animal form, giving you the specific abilities of a frog. The duration of this casting is until you make your daily preparations, and you can't Dismiss the spell. While you are under the effect of animal form due to this curse, you have all the usual limitations of animal form, including the fact that you can't speak (though you can still understand any languages you know).

Sinful TongueCurse 7

Legacy Content

Rare Curse Enchantment Magical Mental 
Source Dark Archive pg. 162
This curse is typically used as punishment by good clergy. The curse causes you to envision your wrongdoings whenever you attempt to lie or deceive, a burden that can be cured only by confessing your past transgressions.

Saving Throw DC 23 Will; Effect (misfortune) The weight of guilt distracts you, making it hard for you to deceive people. Whenever you attempt a Deception check, roll the check twice and take the worse result.
Tempted Curse You begin to confess your sins, beginning from youthful indiscretions and ending with the present day. While you confess, all creatures within 30 feet must succeed at a DC 23 Will save or gain the fascinated condition as they listen. You must spend at least 2 actions per round, which have the concentrate trait, listing your wrongdoings. This is an auditory, enchantment, emotion, and mental effect. Once you stop confessing your sins, or after 10 minutes if you haven't finished confessing your sins, the effect ends, and you can't confess again until your next daily preparations. Your conscience is clearer having confessed, and you take only a –2 status penalty to Deception checks.

Swarming WordsCurse 9

Legacy Content

Rare Conjuration Curse Magical 
Source Dark Archive pg. 162
Placed upon those who use magic to cause harm, this curse causes a shower of bugs to fall from your lips whenever you speak, foiling your spellcasting.

Saving Throw DC 26 Fortitude; Effect The crawling within your mouth never stops as cockroaches, ants, and other insects nest in your body. Whenever you attempt to Cast a Spell with a verbal component or otherwise use an activity that has the auditory trait, you must attempt a DC 5 flat check. On a failure, the insects counteract your activity as they crowd your mouth and muffle the sound.
Tempted Curse The insects multiply into a cascade. When you activate the tempted curse, you must spend 2 actions to cast a 5th-level vomit swarm to free the vermin inside you. For 1 minute after unleashing the swarm, you are not affected by the curse, but afterward, the swarming worsens. For the rest of the day, whenever you attempt to Cast a Spell with a verbal component or otherwise use an activity that has the auditory trait, you must attempt a DC 10 flat check. On a failure, the insects counteract your activity.

Rage of the ExcommunicantCurse 10

Legacy Content

Rare Curse Enchantment Magical Mental 
Source Dark Archive pg. 163
Placed upon heretics or those who broke faith, this curse causes symbols of your former faith to burn you upon sight.

Saving Throw DC 27 Will; Effect This curse is always associated with a specific deity, and is typically experienced only by one of their former clerics or champions. The sight of that deity's religious symbol burns you, dealing 1d6 damage every round you look upon it. You can avert your eyes to avoid losing Hit Points once you know where the symbol is located. In addition, the curse hardens you against that god. You gain a +1 status bonus to saving throws and AC versus divine spells cast by that deity's clergy.
Tempted Curse The sight of the deity's religious symbol burns you with the god's rage. You can activate the tempted curse upon viewing the deity's symbol. You are quickened 1 for 1 minute and can use the extra action each round only to Strike and Stride. For the rest of the day, whenever you see the deity's religious symbol, you lose 2d6 Hit Points.

Forbidding KnowledgeCurse 11

Legacy Content

Rare Abjuration Curse Magical 
Source Dark Archive pg. 163
Information you never should have known lingers everpresent in your mind.

Saving Throw DC 28 Will; Effect This curse is acquired when encountering forbidden knowledge. This curse is always associated with a specific piece or topic of knowledge, such as a demon lord's plan to overtake a government or the true name of a powerful wizard. Your tongue trips when you try to tell another this knowledge, and your hand stalls when you attempt to write it. Any attempt at communicating it fails, even as you can't stop thinking about it.
Tempted Curse When you activate the tempted curse, you must spend 2 actions to attempt to speak the triggering knowledge. This allows you to redirect the curse's energy and cast silence heightened to 4th level, centered on yourself. You are still unable to speak the knowledge clearly, but you can convey a single word to an adjacent creature. You gain the stupefied 2 condition for the remainder of the day. This condition can't be reduced until the next time you perform your daily preparations, at which point it ends.

Enforced HospitalityCurse 13

Legacy Content

Rare Curse Enchantment Magical Mental 
Source Dark Archive pg. 163
Cast upon the rude or inconsiderate, this curse compels you to offer a genuine and warm greeting to each new creature you meet.

Saving Throw DC 31 Will; Effect This curse compels you to great those you meet as though they were old friends. Whenever you come across a creature (or group of creatures) for the first time, you must spend 1 action greeting them or become slowed 1 for 1 minute, even if the creature is obviously hostile. No matter your intention, your greeting comes across as warm and genuine, and it grants you a +1 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks to Make an Impression.
Tempted Curse Your compulsion to greet newcomers intensifies. You must greet every individual creature you meet for the first time by spending 1 action greeting them or become slowed 1 for 1 minute. If you meet more creatures than you have actions, you can continue spending actions greeting creatures across multiple turns. For example, if you encountered six bandits, you could greet three bandits on the first round and three bandits on the second round, and you wouldn't become slowed unless you took another action before you finished greeting them. For 1 minute or until you take a hostile action, you gain the effects of a 7th-level sanctuary against creatures you've greeted in this way (DC 31).