The curse of Demonic Possession has devastating effects.
A curse is a magical burden that lasts for a specified time or until it is ended by some means. A magical contagion is an adverse effect of magical origin that is contagious by definition.
The following sections discuss curses and magical contagions in detail.
A curse typically takes one of the forms detailed below.
The simplest curses are created by the Bestow Curse spell. The effects of such curses are limited and can be ended by the Remove Curse spell.
Bestow Curse provides useful benchmarks for gauging the potency of other curses. A curse that lasts for 1 minute equates to a level 3 spell, while one that lasts until dispelled equates to a level 9 spell.
Some monsters are associated with curses, whether as part of their origins or due to their ability to spread curses—werewolves being a prime example.
You decide how a spell like Remove Curse affects a creature with accursed origins. For example, you might decide that a mummy was created through a curse and it can be destroyed permanently only by casting Remove Curse on its corpse.
Cursed magic items are created deliberately or originate as the result of supernatural events. Such items are detailed in chapter 7.
A curse might manifest during an adventure when a creature’s violation of a taboo warrants supernatural punishment, such as breaking a vow, defiling a tomb, or murdering an innocent. Such a curse can have any effects you design, or it might be a customized version of another type of curse discussed in this section.
A creature affected by such a curse should know why they’re being punished and be able to learn how to end their curse, likely by symbolically righting the wrong they committed. How a spell like Remove Curse affects a curse that’s part of your adventure is up to you—the spell might merely suppress the effects of the curse for a time. Regardless, narrative curses should feel like rare, potent magic rooted in the lore of your campaign.
Some locations are so suffused with evil that anyone who lingers there is burdened with a curse. Demonic Possession is one example of an environmental curse.
Demonic Possession. Demonic Possession arises from the chaos and evil of the Abyss and commonly besets creatures that interact with demonic objects or linger in desecrated locations, where demonic spirits await victims.
A creature that becomes the target of Demonic Possession must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or be possessed by a bodiless demonic entity. Whenever the possessed creature rolls a 1 on a D20 Test, the demonic entity takes control of the creature and determines the creature’s behavior thereafter. At the end of each of the possessed creature’s later turns, the creature makes a DC 15 Charisma saving throw, regaining control of itself on a success.
After finishing a Long Rest, a creature with Demonic Possession makes a DC 15 Charisma saving throw. On a successful save, the effect ends on the creature. A Dispel Evil and Good spell or any magic that removes a curse also ends the effect on it.
Alchemists, potion brewers, and areas of wild magic are credited with creating the first magical contagions. An outbreak of such a contagion can form the basis of an adventure as characters search for a cure and try to stop the contagion’s spread.
If a creature infected with a magical contagion spends 3 days recuperating—engaging in no activities that would interrupt a Long Rest—the creature makes a DC 15 Constitution saving throw at the end of the recuperation period. On a successful save, the creature has Advantage on saving throws to fight off the magical contagion for the next 24 hours.
The following examples show how magical contagions can work. Feel free to alter the saving throw DCs, effects, and other characteristics of these contagions to suit your campaign.