The other face of ritual and alchemy is of course, curses. The ones presented here are easiest put on NPCs, seeing that DMing some of these may be quite challenging. But deployed in a way that makes narrative sense they may forever alter a PC in a very compelling way.
As always, I strive to provide plot and interactivity, so let’s hope this is useful for someone (besides the party I DM for that is about to run into one of these eheh).
Sample result: “the cursed individual has a venomous snake slowly consuming his insides. This appeared after the bite of a wild animal. The curse may only be lifted by undertaking the risky pilgrimage to the holy city of Merissa and having an audience with the head priestess of the temple.”
Roll 3d10!
| Dice | Curse | Mode of creation/caused by | Lifted by… |
| 1 | Swap face with a known criminal | Drinking from the fountain of Mazrak | Repeating the unknown curse words into the mouth of a cave |
| 2 | Never be able to hear music again | Murdering a holy man/bard/poet etc | Gifting one’s most prized possession tothe elusive satyr Narim |
| 3 | Plant lymph will flow through veins, bark will replace skin over years | An elderly man sacrificed a lamb in a nymph pool | Walking three times through holy fire |
| 4 | Will betray a faithful friend or relative | A parent has bargained with an evil being in order to conceive a child | Climbing mount Neversummer to bring a tribute to the goddess of the high rock |
| 5 | The land around his or her home will be divided by a chasm from the rest of the world | A bite or scratch of a cursed animal spreads the curse like a disease | A pilgrimage to the holy city of Maressa and an audience with the priestess |
| 6 | Unable to move through forests without awakening wild wolves | Carrying a weapon in a forbidden holy forest | Eating the bitter root of the Foddil tree, which only grows where blood was spilled in a duel between valiant men |
| 7 | The cursed will be able to fly, but will have to perform sacrifice to do so | Trapping the souls of three travellers in a gemstone encasted in a ring bearing the cursed’s name | The loss of what is more precious than gold |
| 8 | Ravens will haunt the cursed’s dreams and will travel alongside him or her | Daring to predict the future in the presence of a god | Whisper the magical words in the ears of a dove |
| 9 | Every object held in the cursed’s hands will have a hole in it (including weapons) | The alchemist Galef was commissioned a curse ointment by a rival of the cursed. The curse works like poison | Imposition of the hands by a king |
| 10 | A venomous snake will slowly (over years) grow inside the person | A crone using a lock of hair of the cursed | The love of a long-lost friend |
Random table of the week 