Exhausted Resilience. If damage reduces the Infected to 0 Hit Points, it makes a Constitution saving throw (DC 4 plus the damage taken) unless the damage is Poison or Cold, or from a Critical Hit. On a successful save, the Infected drops to 1 Hit Point instead.
Living Hell. The Infected is immune to being Exhausted, Frightened, or put to sleep. They are extra vulnerable to Cold and Poison damage.
Slam. Melee Attack Roll: +3, reach 5 ft. Hit: 5 (1d8 + 1) Bludgeoning damage.
Crimson Contagion. When the monster makes a successful Attack Roll, the Infected's target must make a DC 12 CON Saving Throw or else contract the Crimson Crystal Cancer infection when a piece of the crystal growing out of the Infected's body breaks and pieces of the crystal force their way into the target's biological system.
Description
Those infected by the dreaded Crimson Crystal Cancer suffer a terrible fate. For the full infection, see below. Those who have had the infection for some time are no longer themselves. Driven by animal rage and an instinct to attack, and carrying an extremely contagious illness, has led to all the infected being forced out of where they live out into the wilderness, shunned more than lepers out of fear, disgust, and hope that they do not now carry it themselves. The Infected lose themselves quickly and are then driven by what is called the "Red Madness." They flail about manically, attacking anything they perceive as a threat, which is really anything that moves. They continue to shuffle about and spasm at top speed until they eventually meet a gruesome end in the wilderness (animals, somehow, are immune to the infection so far) or are burnt out from dehydration and starvation.
The Crimson Crystal Cancer infection
Raging across Nathicana is an infection of sorts, tied to aberrant crystal growths erupting from the infected's skin.
Stages of Infection
1. Contraction: If exposed skin is touched by a piece of Crimson Crystal, a DC 12 CON Saving Throw must be made once every minute for the next five minutes. After at any point the Saving Throw is failed, the person making the check has now been Infected but will have no symptoms for 24 hours. If all CON Saving Throws succeed, then they do not contract the infection.
2. Fever & Chills: 24 hours after Infection, the Infected comes down with a fever. Their skin is hot to the touch, but they feel cold and sweat profusely. Irregular bruising and internal bleeding happens after that. However, the Infected will not feel tired at all. The fever and chills will continue for 1d4 in-game days (or however the DM wants it to last).
This part of the Infection can be fought if the character takes two subsequent long rests and rolls a DC 16 or higher CON Saving Throw with Advantage.
During this stage, 1/4 of damage to an Infected character is ignored. They are immune to Exhaustion and being Frightened. They are Vulnerable to Cold.
3. Crystals: The Third Stage begins when the crystals grow from the character’s bruisemarks, breaking through the skin. At this point, the Infection cannot be fought. It has set in and it has taken hold, but an Infected character can hold control of themself for every WIS Saving Throw with Disadvantage they make at the DM’s discretion. In the first hour, it is a DC 9 WIS Saving Throw, but continues to go up by one at each hour mark. Once the Infected inevitably fails a Saving Throw, they lose control of their minds and adopt the Crimson Crystal Infected Monster Stat Block.
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