Curses
Curses are probably my favorite affliction; after all, there is just so much more that you can do with a curse than simply reduce someone’s ability scores. From cursed items to dire pronouncements, curses can have very unique and powerful effects, which can drive stories all on their own. Unfortunately, sometimes it can be hard to figure out how to curse people, and so I thought I would rattle off 10 great curses that you can pilfer or expand upon to use in your game.
1. Memory loss. This classic curse can make for some very interesting plots when one or more characters suddenly forget several important details. The key to this curse is that something dramatic needs to have happened that affects one or more of the cursed this plot. A good time to use this curse is at the beginning of a game, or just after a character sat out an adventure. Make sure that the characters are able to piece together that something important has happened, though they cannot remember the details. Allow the mystery to drive the plot line, and make recovering their memory a top priority. Typically, lifting this curse requires remembering a specific forgotten event. This can also be a good way to introduce a new NPC in an important role.
2. Transfiguration. Another classic curse is when one or more characters has been transformed into an animal. The interesting thing about this curse is the unique perspective it offers to a civilized character who must adapt to new challenges. Typically, recipients of this curse know who cursed them and why, but it is most commonly broken when the cursed character learns the meaning of being human (at least, according to the curser). This curse could make a good way to introduce a cursed noncombative NPC that you want to later reveal as someone interesting.
3. Honesty. The curse of honesty carries with it a lot of opportunities for unusual and soul-searching roleplaying. This curse also works well in reverse, when a character is cursed to never speak the truth; this can be fun when the PCs return to speak with a trusted NPC’s ally they haven’t seen in a while. These kinds of curses are often broken by telling a profound truth.
4. Childishness/idiocy. With this curse, the victim is transformed into a childlike or buffoon state, bereft of all their senses, and can be a fun curse that offers some roleplaying opportunities to otherwise mighty heroes. These curses typically are delivered en masse as a way to subdue potential threats. It can be difficult to break this type of curse, often requiring the victim to perform some action normally considered too complex for characters in that condition.
5. Size alteration. As its name implies, this curse changes the target's size, often dramatically. Sometimes this change represents the character’s true nature; for instance, a mighty warrior who is greedy might be transformed to a very small size to represent his small-mindedness. Other times, it is meant to humiliate or cripple the victim, possibly with a princess being transformed into the size of giant just before the ball, or to serve as a better bride to a dragon. Usually these curses are overcome through acceptance and prowess in their new size; unfortunately, such endings typically come just as the curse is getting useful.
6. Silence. Similar to the curse of honesty, silence offers a very unique roleplaying opportunity. When cursing a PC with silence, make sure that you aren’t simply writing a death sentence for the party wizard. In general, unless a player is very comfortable roleplaying a character that cannot talk, you should use this curse mostly on NPCs. It can make for an interesting plot if everyone the PCs need to speak to is unable to speak, or perhaps unable to hear them. This curse is typically broken when one has a need to speak something so true and important that it overwhelms the curse’s magic.
7. Eternal sleep/stone/tree. These curses are all essentially the same, placing the victim in a state of apparently permanent inaction, while preserving their lives. This curse might not seem that different from death, but the devil is in the details. An ideal way to hold a victim hostage (as well as a good way to set aside a character whose player is going to miss a few sessions in a row), this curse is typically placed on a character in order to force another individual to do something, or sometimes, as a punishment for the target. These curses usually have to be lifted by the one who placed them, but can also be broken by some other means.
8. Attraction/repulsion. Typically, this curse, which causes everyone who sees the victim to be overwhelmed with feelings of either attraction or disgust, is best used on a character used to getting the opposite sort of reaction. While this curse can certainly be laid upon a player character to offer interesting roleplaying encounters, it is also excellent for using on an NPC who doesn’t necessarily want the attention, and watching the PCs vie for his or her affection. These curses are typically broken by a true expression of love.
9. Time loop. Though this can get old quickly, trapping a character into a loop of a short period of time can be an interesting roleplaying activity. A good way to keep this fresh is to have the loop start out very stable, but to become less stable as time progresses, perhaps by people vanishing or having the loop start over more quickly. These curses are usually ended by figuring out who cursed them and confronting them, or by noticing an exploitable escape from the loop.
10. Personality swap. Typically used to turn the pure of heart to evil, this curse causes a character to begin behaving in a way that is very different from how they usually behave. This curse can actually be a fun way to let a player cut loose and do some of the depraved stuff they always want to do, but never seem to get the chance for. Over the course of time, however this curse should place the PCs in a dangerous situation that motivates them to end the curse. Breaking these curses typically requires displaying proof of who the person was before their change.