Addiction

Additction is in this article a DnD 5e mechanic. It is closely related to poisons and diseases.

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This article contains SPOILERS! Continue read at risk of spoiling the experience for yourself.

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• House_rules#DnD_5e
• Divine Gift
• Addiction
• Healing 5e

Dream Pie

When you have Dream Pie the first time, it's really tasty and surprisingly filling and satisfying, alleviating your need to eat for the day. You gain 1d4 hp. You feel ever so slightly drowsy and think you would greatly benefit from a short nap.

If you have any sleep (minimum 15 minutes) after having a Dream Pie, the wonderful dreams it produce for you provides Dream Inspiration. You are definitely disappointed that the dreams ended, though, but you carry on.

When you wake up from a Long Rest, you feel a longing back to the dreams, but their vivid nature does give you Dream Inspiration (unless you're too addicted) and if you would suffer Barovian Sleep, you now don't instead.

If addiction prevented any gains during a Long Rest, a pie serving and a short (minimum 15 min) restores any such HP prevented in addition to the normal advantages.

Dream Inspiration

Dream Inspiration works just like regular Inspiration with the difference that it applies 1d8 temporary hit points when it's lost or used. I.e.: If use the Inspiration, if you give it to someone else or if you gain a new charge of regular Inspiration, you gain the d8 temp hp.

Dream Pie Addiction Save

During a Long Rest, if you have an addiction or ate pie in the day, secretly roll a Wis save DC 12 + Pie Addiction:

• If you had pie, succeed to avoid increasing Pie Addiction by 1
• If you did NOT have pie, succeed to decrease Pie Addiction by 1
• If you had 3 or more servings, the DC goes up by 2 for every serving beyond 2.

Cold Turkey

If you have gone 5 whole days without eating pie, you lose the addiction through cold turkey. Your Addiction Level is reduced by 5 (to a minimum of 3) and becomes dormant, but will activate should you ever eat Dream Pies again. After successfully ridding yourself of the addiction, you frequently still receives flashes of horror and twitch uncontrollably on occasion. Whenever you make a save or check for 1d4 days, roll 1d6; on a result of 1 that roll a fail even if it was a success. For that duration and an additional 1d4 days, the same is true for skill checks.

Dream Pie Addiction Levels

Addiction affects different depending on Pie Addiction. This is the effect on waking after a Long Rest if you have any Pie Addiction.

• Pie Addiction 1-3
  • Had pie: You feel a longing back to the dreams, but their vivid nature does gives you Dream Inspiration.
  • Not had pie: You have been disturbed by nightmares (fairly normal).
• Pie Addiction 4-6
  • Had pie: You feel strong a longing back to the dreams but you do gain Dream Inspiration.
  • Not had pie: You have been wracked with absolutely horrid nightmares; reduce 10 from your Barovian Sleep Wisdom save result, but will at worst reduce the result to 0.
• Pie Addiction 7-9
  • Had pie: You feel an incredibly strong longing back to the dreams and you don't get Dream Inspiration, losing 1/10 of current HP per hour while poisoned (you retain at least 2 x lvl HP) until you indulge.
  • Not had pie: You had your sleep absolutely ruined with abhorrent nightmares; reduce 20 from your Barovian Sleep Wisdom save result. You are also affected by the "had pie" result.
• Pie Addiction 10+
  • Had pie: Waking up you are utterly compelled to consume more pie. You are affected by both effects of "Pie Addiction 7-9" but 1/5 hp down to 1/lvl until you indulge.
    • If you come under 1/10 max HP you must make a Wisdom save, DC 10 + 1/2 PA, every hour or start acting as if affected by the Suggestion spell with the command: "Do whatever it takes to acquire and eat a pie, like stealing/selling children". (The goal is pie, you are not necessarily reckless.) If you are injured/slapped with intention to regain control, you may make another Wisdom save.
    • If you indulge in eating a pie, you calm down and become very relaxed and apathetic, removing all ongoing negative effects until after next Long Rest.
  • Not had pie: You had indescribable nightmares. During the Long Rest you lose 1/2 of your maximum HP (retaining at least 1). Also suffer the same effects as "had pie".

Design notes

The design is different than MandyMods in many ways. First it's inspired by Pathfinder 2e's beautifully designed affliction "engine" but it's also designed to not be obviously problematic until far into addiction. In fact, withdrawal itself isn't meant to be the big deal, rather the fact that it alleviates the regular nightmares everyone in Barovia suffers, and then, slowly, creeps up to overtake people's lives up to the unthinkable point that they are willing to sell their own children to satiate their needs. I don't want to FORCE the use of pies, I want to ENCOURAGE it to the point it's too late.

A meal is "expensive" at 1g but it's super cheap to get "Inspiration+". The main idea is that it's mostly an advantage with no apparent disadvantage that keeps them coming back for more, and more, and more and, "oh, I can't stop now".

The mind fuck comes at a later date anyways.

References

• https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/91bv3n/fleshing_out_curse_of_strahd_the_mechanics_of/

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