Necrotic Damage

Necrotic damage, also necrosis, is a form of rot that attacks living tissue, killing flesh in such a way that it cannot be healed normally. This type of damage defies conventional recovery methods; neither healing spells nor rest will restore lost vitality. Unlike a reaction to poison or a disease necrotic damage is unaffected by spells such as neutralise poison or cure disease. If a creature loses all its hit points to necrotic damage, it is permanently dead — beyond the reach of death's door, raise dead or even resurrection.

The experience of necrosis is one of excruciating agony and inescapable dread. The victim feels their own body betraying them, muscles weakening, joints stiffening and once-healthy flesh peeling away in sickly, oozing layers. The pain is constant, a gnawing ache that worsens with every passing hour, accompanied by a feverish chill that no warmth can drive away. Sleep becomes impossible as the body's slow decay saps energy and willpower. As such, victims cannot study, concentrate or cast spells — not only due to the sheer distraction of their rotting flesh, but also because the necrotic energy drains their vitality and mental acuity, leaving them in a haze of fatigue and despair. Even attempts at reading or following instructions become futile, as their mind struggles to push past the constant torment.

Remedies and Treatment

For each full day that necrotic damage remains untreated, the affliction will consume an additional 1 hit point per level of the afflicted individual. This progression continues until all necrotic damage is eradicated or the victim succumbs to the decay.

The most effective cures for necrotic damage include the spells aid, heal and regeneration. However, to receive these benefits, the afflicted character must belong to the same faith as the caster. Healing salves are partially effective, restoring only 1 hit point of necrotic damage rather than the usual 1-4. More effectively, boric serum converts necrotic damage into ordinary damage, allowing it to be healed through conventional means.

Sources of Necrosis

Certain creatures and effects are known to inflict necrotic damage, each causing the slow, agonising decay of living tissue. Among them, the violet fungus is particularly insidious, its touch triggering rapid tissue decomposition as it feeds on organic matter. Amputation can also lead to necrosis when lingering tissue death spreads from a severed wound, consuming flesh beyond the initial injury.

The monk sage ability, wither flesh, is an even more deliberate application of this effect, enabling its wielder to channel necrotic energy directly into their strikes, causing flesh to blacken and die upon impact. Each of these afflictions ensures that necrotic damage is more than mere injury — it is an insidious, creeping destruction that resists natural healing and threatens to consume the victim entirely.

See also,
Amputation (sage ability)
Bloodletting (sage ability)
Combat
Druid's Poultice (sage ability)