D&D (2024) So how do you remove disease in 5E 2024?

[xoth.publishing]

Lesser Restoration in 5E 2014 reads: "You touch a creature and can end either one disease or one condition afflicting it. The condition can be blinded, deafened, paralyzed, or poisoned."

Lesser Restoration in 5E 2024 reads: "You touch a creature and end one condition on it: Blinded, Deafened, Paralyzed, or Poisoned."

So, RAW, there is no way to remove disease in 2024? ("Disease" is not listed in the Rules Glosssary in the 2024 PHB.)

I found some talk at DnD Beyond that suggests that "disease" is no longer a thing, and that creatures will be Poisoned instead.

This sure is bad news for any 2024 player encountering everything from the lowly Diseased Giant Rat to the mighty Aboleth from the 2014 monster manual... so much for "backwards compatibility"...

 

[Hussar]

Lesser Restoration in 5E 2014 reads: "You touch a creature and can end either one disease or one condition afflicting it. The condition can be blinded, deafened, paralyzed, or poisoned."

Lesser Restoration in 5E 2024 reads: "You touch a creature and end one condition on it: Blinded, Deafened, Paralyzed, or Poisoned."

So, RAW, there is no way to remove disease in 2024? ("Disease" is not listed in the Rules Glosssary in the 2024 PHB.)

I found some talk at DnD Beyond that suggests that "disease" is no longer a thing, and that creatures will be Poisoned instead.

This sure is bad news for any 2024 player encountering everything from the lowly Diseased Giant Rat to the mighty Aboleth from the 2014 monster manual... so much for "backwards compatibility"...

Well, without actually seeing the rules, I would say that since diseased=poisoned, mechanically, then anything that cures poison would cure disease.

Not sure I like this idea, I'm a big fan of things like the disease track, but, realistically, D&D has largely left disease off the table for a while now. And since Aboleth's disease wasn't curable by Lesser Restoration (need a 6th level spell or higher to remove), it's not really changing anything.

 

[xoth.publishing]

Giant Rats haven't caused disease in 5e ever.

Except the official variant, "Diseased Giant Rat", https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/288142-diseased-giant-rat

Also, Red Slaad, etc.

 

[Hussar]

yeah, edited my post. Whoops. FOrgot about those.

I guess we need to use full on Restoration spells now.

 

[xoth.publishing]

Well, without actually seeing the rules, I would say that since diseased=poisoned, mechanically, then anything that cures poison would cure disease.

Under 2014 rules, you are not also "Poisoned" when you are diseased. I guess they will rewrite any monsters that cause disease for the 2024 MM to make them inflict the Poisoned condition instead, but for compatibility with 2014 monsters and third-party monsters that cause disease, they might as well have left in the wording about removing disease in the 2024 lesser restoration spell (it's like four extra words...!).

 

[Seramus]

2024 Paladin also has the word disease removed from Lay on Hands, and the Poisoned condition doesn't mention diseases.

So either diseases are wrapped up in the Poisoned condition now, or my Paladin of Sune can't go down to the brothels and cure anyone as an act of kindness.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Given that in D&D-land people heal from any injury overnight, perhaps they just do not get sick? Who knows…

 

[Ancalagon]

This means essentially that disease can be used as a "plot device" where the "solution" is to find the macguffin which will be used to create the cure.

So in a way this will increase backward combability to a few older adventures... but also sort of ruins it for others.

 

[Distracted DM]

This means essentially that disease can be used as a "plot device" where the "solution" is to find the macguffin which will be used to create the cure.

So in a way this will increase backward combability to a few older adventures... but also sort of ruins it for others.

It's probably my cynical side, but I doubt that the designers would have intentionally removed any ways for players to cure themselves of diseases if diseases are going to continue to be their own thing. I'm very curious to see what happens; maybe like so many other questions people have had it's another "wait to see what's in the new DMG maybe it'll have all the answers?"

They haven't put out a table of contents screenshot for it yet have they? Maybe diseases are in there.

 

[TiQuinn]

I kind of get it - if you look at the diseased giant rat versus the mummy, they have the wording causes similar loss of hit points but at different rates, but one is a disease and one is a curse. With the red slaad, the disease is very specific needing the entire effect to be written up in the ability’s entry. So too could the spell needed to cure them.

Is disease that big a thing in the average D&D game that it couldn’t fold into poisoned? I don’t think it was as common as poisoned was.