I has a cool idea to start a plague doctor campaign but... I don't know how to go about doing that. Like would I cut some classes, change them, or create new ones entirely?
A little clarification is needed, are the players meant to be plague doctors, or is the general setting meant to be infested by plague? Cutting classes might be a bit too restrictive, instead you could allow players to specialize in particular backgrounds (Or just be proficient in the Medicine skill / Alchemist's Supplies / Herbalism Kit), separate from their chosen class. There's nothing saying a Barbarian can't be master of natural remedies (they do get nature and survival as skills) or a Bard using their music more as a therapeutic measure to keep patients calm.
Not every member of your party need be a doctor, as even doctors need bodyguards when traversing a dangerous land (not to mention it is helpful to have some muscle to help restrain anyone suffering from a fit).
So long as you have at least two doctor-ish characters so they can have dialogue, you should be fine without needing to make any changes to the class system. Your classic doctor-ish characters would be clerics and some types of Druid, though any caster class could likely fit the bill as well since they could be researching the “magical diseases”.
Okay, that would work quite well, how would I introduce combat into the campaign?
The disease makes people lose their senses, becoming feral and attacking people without any thought of their own survival.
The plagues transform people into horrific, indescribable (besides horrific) beasts, causing them to hunt down those who they deem predator and prey.
Looters search homes of the deceased and the evacuated, and some are desperate enough to silence witnesses.
Cults begin to rise in adoration of the pestilence, causing its spread.
Inquisitors emerge to detect the plague, and provide 'mercy killings' to those who (they believe) are afflicted. Not all of them have the best intentions.
A neighbouring kingdom/city, not wanting the disease to spread to it, decides to send its soldiers to burn the kingdom/city. The worse the conditions, the less volunteers there'll be but the pay will be considerably greater.
Those are some very basic prompts for what could be the cause of a combat encounter.
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Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
Your party can also come under attack by regular citizens - either folks who are simply afraid and see the party as a representation of the thing they are afraid of, or, as we learned all too well recently, there are likely going to be selfish people who ignore all the death and advice that would help them and see the restrictions as more draconian than the disease, so they threaten to kill the people just trying to help. That second group might be spurred to action by demagogues providing misinformation about whatever disease you run - giving you another more esoteric foe for your party such as fighting disinformation.
Both options provide opportunities for combat encounters where your party might not want to actually harm the other side - they are, after all, scared or ignorant and mislead civilians and the very folks the party is trying to protect. the second option also presents some good roleplay encounters for your Charisma character(s) - can the party spread real information faster and more effectively than disinformation, with the result having an impact on how quickly the disease spreads.
On another note, if you don’t want to do zombies or lycanthropy, look into the Spellplague of Forgotten Realms - that could be another solid source of inspiration.
I would also consider adding some political drama, even if it is just in the background and your party does not interact with it - showing how the world is changing due to the events of the campaign is one of those things that can really make the world seem alive. For example, the plagues of Europe were really the start of workers receiving basic rights—fewer workers because of the massive deaths meant supply was low, demand was high, and workers could negotiate better deals. Relative power of city-states and nations based on their plague response could also be fun to explore, such has how Venice gained a lot of power after one of the plagues because they but the bullet and locked down their entire city to travel and trade, trading great financial cost for the ability to emerge healthier and stronger long term.
Lots of interesting things to work with - hope you have fun with it!
You could do it where they travel around and have to fight spirits of disease that are attacking the towns. They might be invisible to most people, but the players can see the horrific monsters rampaging around and only they can really stop it. The first mission would start with the mysterious diseases spreading, and the characters have to find a magic spring. Once they bath, drink, or wash themselves in the spring, they gain the ability to see the disease spreaders. That is one way you could do it, as an example.
There are a bunch of monsters that would work with this, though most would have to be reflavored, rot trolls, shadows, specters, death dog, spawn of kyuss, there is some sort of yugoloth that spreads disease. There are also a lot of good homebrew monsters like the clot fly and the avatar of disease. If you are willing to homebrew monsters, then I suggest researching mythology because a lot of mythical beasts were associated with disease. I suggest researching the codrille, and the children of Ana.
I has a cool idea to start a plague doctor campaign but... I don't know how to go about doing that. Like would I cut some classes, change them, or create new ones entirely?
A little clarification is needed, are the players meant to be plague doctors, or is the general setting meant to be infested by plague? Cutting classes might be a bit too restrictive, instead you could allow players to specialize in particular backgrounds (Or just be proficient in the Medicine skill / Alchemist's Supplies / Herbalism Kit), separate from their chosen class. There's nothing saying a Barbarian can't be master of natural remedies (they do get nature and survival as skills) or a Bard using their music more as a therapeutic measure to keep patients calm.
I was thinking that they are plague doctors and the land is riddled with magical diseases. Thanks for the feedback!
Not every member of your party need be a doctor, as even doctors need bodyguards when traversing a dangerous land (not to mention it is helpful to have some muscle to help restrain anyone suffering from a fit).
So long as you have at least two doctor-ish characters so they can have dialogue, you should be fine without needing to make any changes to the class system. Your classic doctor-ish characters would be clerics and some types of Druid, though any caster class could likely fit the bill as well since they could be researching the “magical diseases”.
Okay, that would work quite well, how would I introduce combat into the campaign?
Those are some very basic prompts for what could be the cause of a combat encounter.
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
- The Assemblage of Houses, World of Warcraft
Those all make sense, I had an idea where maybe the disease could be something like lycanthropy or zombification
Your party can also come under attack by regular citizens - either folks who are simply afraid and see the party as a representation of the thing they are afraid of, or, as we learned all too well recently, there are likely going to be selfish people who ignore all the death and advice that would help them and see the restrictions as more draconian than the disease, so they threaten to kill the people just trying to help. That second group might be spurred to action by demagogues providing misinformation about whatever disease you run - giving you another more esoteric foe for your party such as fighting disinformation.
Both options provide opportunities for combat encounters where your party might not want to actually harm the other side - they are, after all, scared or ignorant and mislead civilians and the very folks the party is trying to protect. the second option also presents some good roleplay encounters for your Charisma character(s) - can the party spread real information faster and more effectively than disinformation, with the result having an impact on how quickly the disease spreads.
On another note, if you don’t want to do zombies or lycanthropy, look into the Spellplague of Forgotten Realms - that could be another solid source of inspiration.
I would also consider adding some political drama, even if it is just in the background and your party does not interact with it - showing how the world is changing due to the events of the campaign is one of those things that can really make the world seem alive. For example, the plagues of Europe were really the start of workers receiving basic rights—fewer workers because of the massive deaths meant supply was low, demand was high, and workers could negotiate better deals. Relative power of city-states and nations based on their plague response could also be fun to explore, such has how Venice gained a lot of power after one of the plagues because they but the bullet and locked down their entire city to travel and trade, trading great financial cost for the ability to emerge healthier and stronger long term.
Lots of interesting things to work with - hope you have fun with it!
Yeah, I was definingly thinking of including political intrigue, and I think it would be cool to include some horror elements.
Monk way of Mercy is perfect for this.
You could do it where they travel around and have to fight spirits of disease that are attacking the towns. They might be invisible to most people, but the players can see the horrific monsters rampaging around and only they can really stop it. The first mission would start with the mysterious diseases spreading, and the characters have to find a magic spring. Once they bath, drink, or wash themselves in the spring, they gain the ability to see the disease spreaders. That is one way you could do it, as an example.
There are a bunch of monsters that would work with this, though most would have to be reflavored, rot trolls, shadows, specters, death dog, spawn of kyuss, there is some sort of yugoloth that spreads disease. There are also a lot of good homebrew monsters like the clot fly and the avatar of disease. If you are willing to homebrew monsters, then I suggest researching mythology because a lot of mythical beasts were associated with disease. I suggest researching the codrille, and the children of Ana.
Hope this was helpful.
Oooh, that is quite a interesting idea, thanks for the feedback!