Fantasy RPG Plot Hooks/Dungeon/Demonic Tapeworm

From Create Your Own Story

Demonic Tapeworm

Dungeon, High-Magic

Use this technique after the player characters have had an adventure in a sewer, swamp or jungle and you want to add a little tension to the return trip. Each affected player who fails to resist contracting a disease doesn't notice anything unusual at first and in fact doesn't know they failed their roll. But after a meal they’ll realize they're still hungry after eating. Normal healing knowledge isn't much use to determine the cause of the disease, but the symptoms can be easily determined. The character apparently gains no benefit from eating or drinking anything. The character will slowly starve to death and become dehydrated, using the normal rules for your chosen system. Potions or consumable items will seem to have no effect on the character. With knowledge of religion or other planes and a successful diagnosis a character can determine that the patient is infected by an Infernal Tapeworm. It will normally eat anything its host consumes but is immune to many magical effects which may or may not prevent potions from affecting the worm at the GM's discretion. The Infernal Tapeworm lays its eggs after the host dies and the corpse becomes a new source of infection for the next two weeks. The Infernal Tapeworm is easiest to cure by having the patient drink a phial of holy water, which instantly kills the worm and banishes it to the underworld in a puff a sulphur smoke. The resulting sulphurous burp is a sure sign that the cure was effective.Otherwise banishing the worm with any normal method is also effective, but normal cures are useless, including magical treatments.