Progression of Black Rot Outbreak
If at any time the players need a complete breakdown of who is sick, and where they are, they can get that information from the council.
Below is the status of the disease as of end of day 22 Trowel. If the party does not treat the disease quickly and effectively, it will continue to spread, and the Director will need to update this data continually.
Baciu Family Status
Kosmin Baciu, of the halfling Baciu family, works at Ul Grau e Rota was the first to fall ill. He was also the first to succumb to the disease on 19 Trowel. Since then, all of the other eight members of his immediate family became infected. Two more have died and four remain sick, in very desperate condition. They can be found quarantined in the Baciu Household.
Covaci Family Status
The father of the tauran Covaci family, works the roads. We believe he is currently somewhere between Gadic and Vehira. Messages have been sent, but we do not believe he is aware of the situation. The five other members of the family are all quarantined in their home, though only four appear to have become infected so far. These four remain quite sick, but none have yet succumbed, though neither have any yet begun to recover. They can be found quarantined in the Covaci Household.
Dandariu Family Status
All eight members of the canis Dandariu family are currently quarantined, but only four have been diagnosed with the disease. Two of those have died, and the other two are faring poorly. They can be found quarantined in the Dandariu Household.
Surdo Family Status
The porcine Surdo family has been hit very hard. The mother fell ill on 15 Trowel, and by 20 Trowel, all eleven of the family were infected. Six of these rose as ghouls on 20 Trowel. One was killed but the other five managed to escape. One of those who remain has since died, three remain infected at the Surdo family household. Ironically, the mother has since recovered, but she suffers from overwhelming guilt and anxiety. She is currently being cared for at the Church. The rest of the family remains in quarantine in the Surdo Household.
Gwynne Family Status
All six members of the human Gwynne family fell ill early on. Four of them disappeared from their home on 19 Trowel and have not been seen since. It is unclear if they died and rose as ghouls or fled out of fear. Two were left behind, possibly too ill to flee. One of them died and rose the following night and joined several others attempting to exhume a corpse from the cemetery before being confronted and escaping. The single remaining one, miraculously, recovered yesterday, and has been moved to the Church, where she is being tended to. There are no infected at the Gwynne household, currently, and it has been cleaned and sterilized by the Groza family, using a special cleaner provided by the Lumanaru family.
Im-habn Family Status
All six members of the dwarven Im-habn family fell ill and were degenerating rapidly. Last night, on 21 Trowel, guards responded to horrific cries within the quarantined house only to discover that four of the six had succumbed to the disease and had overwhelmed and begun to devour the other two. The guards killed two, but the other two escaped. There are currently no infected at the Im-habn household, and it has been cleaned and sterilized by the Groza family, using a special cleaner provided by the Lumanaru family.
Ledgers
All of this information is summarized in two ledgers the council has opened for the purpose of tracking the progression of the disease. The ledgers are maintained by the Pastratorea Aurora Donatell, who can answer specific and detailed questions about the progression of the disease as it is summarized above, in the tables below, or in the messages sent to the party while they were traveling here.
The ledgers are updated continually, and the characters are free to consult them at any time.
| FAMILY | PERSONS | INFECTED | RECOVER | DIED | KILLED | FLED | RESOLVED | SICK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baciu | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |||
| Covaci | 6 | 4 | 4 | |||||
| Gwynne | 6 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Surdo | 11 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 3 |
| Im-habn | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Dandariu | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||
| TOTAL | 44 | 38 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 25 | 13 |
| DATE | NEW | CASES | RECOVER | DIED | KILLED | FLED | RESOLVED | SICK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 5 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 6 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 7 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 8 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||||
| 9 | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| 10 | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| 11 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |||||
| 12 | 3 | 3 | ||||||
| 13 | 1 | 4 | 4 | |||||
| 14 | 4 | 4 | ||||||
| 15 | 1 | 5 | 5 | |||||
| 16 | 2 | 7 | 7 | |||||
| 17 | 3 | 10 | 10 | |||||
| 18 | 3 | 13 | 13 | |||||
| 19 | 4 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 | ||
| 20 | 6 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 10 | |
| 21 | 7 | 29 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 11 | |
| 22 | 8 | 38 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 13 | ||
| TOTAL | 36 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 25 | 13 |
Ongoing Progression
If the players do not begin acting promptly to cure the disease, it will quickly spread and soon overtake the entire village. There are about 80 uninfected households in Cosutanu when the characters arrive on 22 Trowel. Needless to say, if more than a couple of days pass with the Director checking for new infections and creating newly infected households, the odds of the player characters failing their quest become very high.
If the players are not actively and aggressively working to cure the disease, the leadership of the town council should pressure them to do so.
Checking for New Infections
Starting at the end of the day on 22 Trowel, for each day that passes with anyone in the village still infected, the Director should roll a d20. If that number is less than the current total number of infected individuals, a new household becomes infected.
- If the number of currently infected individuals is greater than 20, this will be automatic.
- If the number is greater than 40, two new households become infected.
- If the number is greater than 50 it is four new households.
- If the number is greater than 60, eight new households, etc.
Infecting New Households
If a new household is determined to become infected, the Director should invent a family with their own home on the map, their own names, and with 3d4 family members, 1d3+1 of whom will become sick. The household will become infected, the house will be quarantined, and two guards will be placed outside.
If the number of guards is insufficient to station two on each infected household, then only one guard will be placed. If the town does not have enough guards to even maintain the quarantine, the quest should be considered lost. The ghouls break out of the quarantined village and Black Rot begins to spread into the countryside, ending the adventure.
Infecting New Individuals
Regardless of whether any new households have become infected, the Director must also increase the number of infected individuals in each household that is already infected. Within any house that contains a mix of infected and uninfected, 1d3-1 individuals will become infected each day until everyone is infected. Uniquely, this does not apply to Francesc Covaci of the Covaci family who is immune and will never become infected.
Ghoul Escape
Once every member of a household is infected, it will stay that way for 1d3 days, after which, there is a 25% chance each day that everyone in the household becomes a ghoul and they break out of the house, engage the guards and attempt to escape. The Director can decide to play these encoutners, or can resolve them by simply declaring how many ghouls were killed, how many ghouls escaped, and how many guards were killed or have become infected.
Escaped ghouls will make their way to the Puciosa Mine in a roundabout fashion, slowly locating it by smell. The player characters should not normally be able to simply follow escaped ghouls directly to the mine. Escaped ghouls should be added to the number of ghouls encountered in the mine.