DC

Example

6

-------------------

A few drops of blood from someone who had Crimson Rot; wood from a contaminated tree; inhaling smoke from a burning contaminated tree

-------------------

10

-------------------

Someone who has Stage I or II Crimson Rot; dried berries from contaminated plants (touched)

-------------------

13

-------------------

Someone who has Stage III Crimson Rot; contaminated plants; berries from contaminated plants (touched); dried berries from contaminated plants (eaten); contaminated water (touched)

-------------------

15

-------------------

Someone who has Stage IV or V Crimson Rot; sap from a contaminated tree (touched); berries from a contaminated plant (eaten)

-------------------

18

-------------------

Someone who has Stage VI or VII Crimson Rot; sap or syrup from a contaminated tree (ingested); contaminated water (drank)

-------------------

22

-------------------

Pulp from someone who has Stage VIII Crimson Rot; someone who has Stage VIII Crimson Rot

-------------------

Stage

Effects & Potential Cures

Stage I

-------------------

Small red dots and smudges appear where you touched the source(s) of contamination. If it was ingested, your teeth and throat suffer from this. You experience an uncomfortable stinging sensation in these locations.

When you take a long rest, you must make a DC 9 Constitution saving throw or only gain the benefits of a short rest. When you take a short rest, you must make a DC 8 Constitution saving throw or not gain any benefits.

If you fail one of these saving throws by three or more, or you are not cured for 1d6+1 days, the disease advances to Stage II.

Potential cures include Lesser Restoration, Cure Disease, similar magic of equal or higher level, pouring holy water on all of the smudges and dots, or succeeding one of the saving throws by 8 or more at least twice.

-------------------

Stage II

-------------------

The smudges and dots darken slightly and grow. The stinging intensifies slightly.

The DCs of the saving throws both increase by one. In addition, you must subtract 1 from all of your attack rolls and ability checks that involve Strength.

If you are not cured within 1d3+1 days, or you fail one of the saving throws by three or more, the disease advances to Stage III.

Potential cures include Lesser Restoration, Cure Disease, similar magic of equal or higher level, or rolling a 19 or 20 on one of the saving throws.

-------------------

Stage III

-------------------

The smudges and dots spread, taking over the entire section of skin. They noticeably shift toward magenta. In the places the skin was originally touched, the stinging gradually changes to an intense blunt pain.

Both DCs increase by two. In addition, when you fail one of the saving throws, you take 1d3 acid damage.

If you are reduced to 0 hit points by the damage, the disease advances to Stage IV. In addition, if you are not cured within 1d3 days, you take 1d4 acid damage, and the disease advances to Stage IV. This damage cannot reduce you to lower than 1 HP.

Potential cures include Lesser Restoration, Cure Disease, or similar magic of equal or higher level.

-------------------

Stage IV

-------------------

The contaminated flesh darkens slightly and spreads more, covering most of the limb/face/chest/back etc. The flesh where it originally touched begins to crumble slightly.

If you fail the saving throw during a long rest, you gain no benefits. In addition, the damage increases to 1d4. For every six damage you take from the disease, you gain one level of exhaustion.

If you are reduced to 0 hit points by the damage, or you are not cured within 1d2 days, the disease advances to Stage V. In addition, if the spot where the disease originated is hit by an attack, the attack is a critical hit, and you must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or fall unconscious for 8d10 minutes, take 1d6 acid damage, and have the disease advance to Stage V.

Potential cures include Lesser Restoration, Cure Disease, or similar magic of equal or higher level. However, if the spell cast is lower than 4th level, there is a 50% chance that it will fail. If it fails, the disease has a 25% chance of advancing to Stage V. If the spell fails, the caster must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or contract Crimson Rot.

-------------------

Stage V

-------------------

The contaminated flesh darkens noticeably and shifts toward purple. The crumbling in the original areas increases and spreads.

The crumbling flesh causes you to have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks and advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks.

If the disease is left uncured for more than 5d12 hours, the disease advances to Stage VI. In addition, when an attack hits you and does not clearly hit somewhere else, it has a 1 in 6 chance of hitting the crumbling area. If it does, it is a critical hit, and you take 2d4 acid damage and must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or take 1d4 more acid damage, fall unconscious for 10d10 minutes, and have the disease advance to Stage VI.

Potential cures include Lesser Restoration, Cure Disease, or similar magic of equal or higher level. However, if the spell cast is lower than 5th level, there is a 75% chance that it will fail. If it fails, the disease advances to Stage V. If the spell fails, the caster must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or contract Crimson Rot.

-------------------

Stage VI

-------------------

The contaminated areas lighten significantly, and the crumbling stops. To most, it would seem as if you were recovering.

All effects of previous stages slowly melt away.

If the disease is not cured within 3d8 hours, the disease will advance to Stage VII. However, it does not advance for 3d4 days. During this time, there is no hope of curing the disease, and any attempts to do so will fail.

Potential cures include Lesser Restoration, Cure Disease, or similar magic of equal or higher level. If the spell cast is lower than 8th level, the caster must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or contract Crimson Rot.

-------------------

Stage VII

-------------------

The contaminated flesh fades to dark purple and spreads, and the crumbling comes back, stronger than ever before. Entire chunks of your flesh melt away from your body. Blood begins oozing from the contaminated flesh.

All effects of previous stages (except Stage VI) are reapplied. The DCs of the saving throws increase by two, and the damage increases to 1d10. In addition, when you take damage from the disease, you must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or fall unconscious for 3d4 hours.

If the disease is not cured within 3d2 days, the disease will advance to Stage VIII.

Potential cures include Greater Restoration or similar magic of equal or higher level. However, if the spell is lower than level 8, it has a 75% chance of failure.

-------------------

Stage VIII

-------------------

The flesh blackens and collapses from the bone in copious amounts. At this point, it will have spread to cover at least half of the body.

Every 10 minutes, you take 2d10+4 acid damage and 1d4 necrotic damage, and you suffer one level of exhaustion. You can no longer benefit from long rests or short rests. Wherever you go, you leave behind a trail of crimson sludge, which has the potential to infect others. It loses its potency after 1d6 days. You lose the ability to speak or take actions, and all of your movement speeds are reduced to 5 feet. Your skin becomes water soluble. For every round you spend in water, you take 2d10 acid damage, and have an 80% chance to infect the water.

At this point, all hope is lost in terms of curing the disease without divine intervention or a wish spell.

-------------------