# Taking suggestions for new diseases

**URL:** <https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038>\
**Category:** The Drawing Board\
**Created:** [May 5, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038 "2014-05-05T01:46:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![acehawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/65b543/32.png) [@acehawk](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/acehawk)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/21 "2014-05-26T18:25:31Z")

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Lyme Disease - Not too difficult to contract in the wilderness, wide range of non-obvious symptoms that mimic other diseases and while it isn’t typically deadly it could severely cripple the capabilities of a survivor if allowed to progress. Easy to cure with antibiotics if noticed early enough.

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**Author:** ![RAM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@RAM](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/RAM)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 3:29am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/22 "2014-05-27T03:29:25Z")

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It just wouldn’t be cataclysmic if you didn’t need to keep yourself awake all night to check for symptoms and then drill a hole in your own head to release pressure…  
There is probably a sporting C.B.M. to deal with that though…

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**Author:** ![Khrysanth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@Khrysanth](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Khrysanth)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 4:40am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/23 "2014-05-27T04:40:17Z")

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“With the new Black and Decker Home Lobotomy CBM you’ll never have to worry about built up pressure or nuisances like independent thought again!”

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**Author:** ![bugsniper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@bugsniper](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/bugsniper)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/24 "2014-05-28T19:13:02Z")

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Maybe we can expand the effects of drugs to include liver disease instead of the heart attacks we currently have. It can be detected by the yellow skin coloring, and requires you to have dialysis or else you become tired and go into a coma that kills you. Cured by robotic transplant machines that are operated by a remote doctor.

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/cataclysmdda/original/1X/21b5d044e8473b25d0bf905d60477e25f6fbe0cf.png) [@system](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/system)\
**Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 3:53am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/25 "2014-05-29T03:53:35Z")

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> [@bugsniper](#):
>
> Maybe we can expand the effects of drugs to include liver disease instead of the heart attacks we currently have. It can be detected by the yellow skin coloring, and requires you to have dialysis or else you become tired and go into a coma that kills you. Cured by robotic transplant machines that are operated by a remote doctor.

Yeah, I could see Hepatitus being a problem in the apocalypse, but full on Liver Failure? That’d probably be far too severe.

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**Author:** ![RAM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@RAM](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/RAM)\
**Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 7:13am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/26 "2014-05-29T07:13:54Z")

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Well it would be far too severe for most situations, but are there survivors out there who are permanently drunk?

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/cataclysmdda/original/1X/21b5d044e8473b25d0bf905d60477e25f6fbe0cf.png) [@system](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/system)\
**Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 7:06pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/27 "2014-05-29T19:06:40Z")

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> [@RAM](#):
>
> Well it would be far too severe for most situations, but are there survivors out there who are permanently drunk?

Well, my survivors do have a slight tendancy to drink 1 whole bottle of vodka in a single sitting about once per week…

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**Author:** ![RAM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@RAM](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/RAM)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/28 "2014-05-30T00:01:20Z")

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One problem with medical inclusions is that many symptoms veer into territory that may offend the sensibilities of folk who are currently satisfied with the offensiveness of the game…

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**Author:** ![Markutsk](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/markutsk/32/229_2.png) [@Markutsk](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Markutsk)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/29 "2014-05-30T19:09:05Z")

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Parkinson’s disease - Chance to get 1%, because of randomness.  
If sex gets added; STDS - Chance to get 1% with Condoms, 30% raw.  
Salmonella - Chance to get 5%  
Sinusal pluggage / infection - Chance to get 2%, 20% on cold weather.

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**Author:** ![dambuk1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19adc/32.png) [@dambuk1](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/dambuk1)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/30 "2014-05-30T19:53:33Z")

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> [@RAM](#):
>
> One problem with medical inclusions is that many symptoms veer into territory that may offend the sensibilities of folk who are currently satisfied with the offensiveness of the game…

Nobody said that the game would describe crest worms parasites eating you from inside out, if that’s what you mean 😛  
It could still be a mod or something that can be turned off in the world generator though.

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**Author:** ![Leper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecd19e/32.png) [@Leper](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Leper)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/31 "2014-05-30T20:02:54Z")

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> [@Khrysanth](#):
>
> “With the new Black and Decker Home Lobotomy CBM you’ll never have to worry about built up pressure or nuisances like independent thought again!”

I believe that the built up pressure thing RAM was referring to was actually trepanning. More or less disturbing than a lobotomy? I vote less (far, far less), but you decide after reading this person’s description of the sensation:  
“After some time there was an ominous sounding schlurp and the sound of bubbling. I drew the trepan out and the gurgling continued. It sounded like air bubbles running under the skull as they were pressed out. I looked at the trepan and there was a bit of bone in it. At last!”

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**Author:** ![Khrysanth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@Khrysanth](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Khrysanth)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 8:47pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/32 "2014-05-30T20:47:26Z")

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> [@Leper](#):
>
> [quote=“Khrysanth, post:23, topic:6038”]“With the new Black and Decker Home Lobotomy CBM you’ll never have to worry about built up pressure or nuisances like independent thought again!”

I believe that the built up pressure thing RAM was referring to was actually trepanning. More or less disturbing than a lobotomy? I vote less (far, far less), but you decide after reading this person’s description of the sensation:  
“After some time there was an ominous sounding schlurp and the sound of bubbling. I drew the trepan out and the gurgling continued. It sounded like air bubbles running under the skull as they were pressed out. I looked at the trepan and there was a bit of bone in it. At last!”[/quote]

Oh, I know it was trepanning. But that just didn’t make for an interesting CBM name.

> [@dambuk1](#):
>
> [quote=“RAM, post:28, topic:6038”]One problem with medical inclusions is that many symptoms veer into territory that may offend the sensibilities of folk who are currently satisfied with the offensiveness of the game…

Nobody said that the game would describe crest worms parasites eating you from inside out, if that’s what you mean 😛  
It could still be a mod or something that can be turned off in the world generator though.[/quote]

Aside from the magecraft angle, Angra Mainyu and crest worms would fit into the world without much impact.

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**Author:** ![TheGrifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@TheGrifter](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/TheGrifter)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/33 "2014-05-30T21:55:02Z")

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Necroa virus, like out of Plague Inc.

Sure, the goo does awful things to a person, but let’s say you were to extract the DNA of the virus, transpolimiferate it, dunk it in a well, and do some voodoo over it, you could probably turn it into an effective bioweapon.

Something that zombifies YOU. The player character. You can get bitten, but you never exhibit any traditional symptoms. Maybe you start experiencing necrosis, or tissue sloughs off…

Maybe you start experiencing dementia. Itchy. Tasty.

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**Author:** ![Leper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecd19e/32.png) [@Leper](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Leper)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 8:00am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/34 "2014-05-31T08:00:54Z")

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> [@Khrysanth](#):
>
> [quote=“Leper, post:31, topic:6038”][quote=“Khrysanth, post:23, topic:6038”]“With the new Black and Decker Home Lobotomy CBM you’ll never have to worry about built up pressure or nuisances like independent thought again!”

I believe that the built up pressure thing RAM was referring to was actually trepanning. More or less disturbing than a lobotomy? I vote less (far, far less), but you decide after reading this person’s description of the sensation:  
“After some time there was an ominous sounding schlurp and the sound of bubbling. I drew the trepan out and the gurgling continued. It sounded like air bubbles running under the skull as they were pressed out. I looked at the trepan and there was a bit of bone in it. At last!”[/quote]

Oh, I know it was trepanning. But that just didn’t make for an interesting CBM name.[/quote]  
I don’t know, the idea of a drill that emerges from a hole in the side of your head that proceeds to bore a hole directly back into your head kind of amuses me. 😛

In my head it’s kind of Inspector Gadget-esque.  
“Go-go-gadget cranial drill!”  
_VVVVRRRRRRRRRRRR_  
“AAAAARRGHHHHH WHAT PURPOSE DOES THIS EVEN SERVE?!”

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**Author:** ![bahihs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@bahihs](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/bahihs)\
**Post date:** [June 1, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/35 "2014-06-01T20:21:53Z")

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How simpler things like botulism toxin? With all the canned food, this should be a real danger. Or mutualistic parasites (a la futurama) that have some sort of drawback (increased appetite, sleep apnea, occasional hallucinations) but provide stat boosts. Speaking of CBMs, what about infections from improper installation? Metabolic diseases are also interesting, diabetes (which would require insulin injections in severe cases, to moderation of sugar intake in less severe ones).

Also vomiting should be implemented, along with anti-emetics. PTSD and other psychological disorders make sense in the apocalyptic context, random hallucinations, bad dreams that prevent sleep etc.

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**Author:** ![RAM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@RAM](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/RAM)\
**Post date:** [June 1, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/36 "2014-06-01T22:52:06Z")

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Post traumatic stress disorder dreams that wake you up would seem practical. Botulisms should only be a problem with damaged cans or stuff which you can yourself, badly. So long as the stuff was properly sealed and sterilised then there shouldn’t be much issue with infection. But if for some reason the can is not sealed(damage would do this) or sterilised(Ignorance would be the big one or just plain bad when it went in(currently recipes do not accept bad food, but if spoilage were to be hidden somehow…  
A parasite that increases any of the basic stats seems a little fantastic. I mean, the setting is fantastic, so sure, maybe goo can randomly provide random stat boosts as it prepares you for the afterlife, but parasites would be more likely to provide increased health. Benign parasites are capable of repelling dangerous parasites and could make you resistant to failures spawned from your own biology, but actually modifying the body’s performance directly seems dubious…

P.T.S.D. could be fun if a critter reduced you to low health, or chased you for a long time, or performed some impressive feat of vandalism to your property, and then you dream about it and hallucinate them and have panic attacks when you see them… There would need to be treatments of course. Any rapid injection of morale would likely ease the symptoms, and there should probably be some means of self-psychotherapy. Maybe sustained positive morale over a long period could reduce the severity of the condition…

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**Author:** ![vache](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ea666f/32.png) [@vache](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/vache)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/37 "2014-06-03T18:26:41Z")

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The big problem with diseases is that, in order to be realistic, they have two ways of being handled: take drugs, wait it out. Drugs force you to have a certain thing, and it quickly becomes “find this thing, or die”, which can be a major annoyance given the random nature of things, or it becomes “oh this bullshit, okay let’s take that thing I’ve been hoarding for the past 3 weeks just in case”, and it becomes a minor annoyance that hardly affects gameplay. Waiting it out is another annoyance: either the disease is debilitating enough that you’re barely able to fight, so you’re forced to have some amount of downtime (a major annoyance), or it’s just a minor inconvenience while you go about the game.

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**Author:** ![Slax](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/slax/32/5385_2.png) [@Slax](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Slax)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/38 "2014-06-03T18:49:41Z")

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Give an ol’ miner the black lung any ol’ day, baby. _cough_

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**Author:** ![KA101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/278dde/32.png) [@KA101](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/KA101)\
**Post date:** [June 3, 2014, 9:58pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/39 "2014-06-03T21:58:59Z")

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[quote=“RAM, post:36, topic:6038”]Post traumatic stress disorder dreams that wake you up would seem practical. Botulisms should only be a problem with damaged cans or stuff which you can yourself, badly. So long as the stuff was properly sealed and sterilised then there shouldn’t be much issue with infection. But if for some reason the can is not sealed(damage would do this) or sterilised(Ignorance would be the big one or just plain bad when it went in(currently recipes do not accept bad food, but if spoilage were to be hidden somehow…  
A parasite that increases any of the basic stats seems a little fantastic. I mean, the setting is fantastic, so sure, maybe goo can randomly provide random stat boosts as it prepares you for the afterlife, but parasites would be more likely to provide increased health. Benign parasites are capable of repelling dangerous parasites and could make you resistant to failures spawned from your own biology, but actually modifying the body’s performance directly seems dubious…

P.T.S.D. could be fun if a critter reduced you to low health, or chased you for a long time, or performed some impressive feat of vandalism to your property, and then you dream about it and hallucinate them and have panic attacks when you see them… There would need to be treatments of course. Any rapid injection of morale would likely ease the symptoms, and there should probably be some means of self-psychotherapy. Maybe sustained positive morale over a long period could reduce the severity of the condition…[/quote]

[PTSD really isn’t much fun.](http://mykecole.com/blog/2013/03/what-ptsd-is)

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**Author:** ![RAM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@RAM](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/RAM)\
**Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/taking-suggestions-for-new-diseases/6038/40 "2014-06-04T00:55:33Z")

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Mildly interesting read, sounds a lot like myself in many respects, but completely irrelevant to fun. I am pretty sure that the vast majority of things in C.:D.D.A. would be less than fun in reality. When will we be implementing the chemical analysis of urine samples by master cooks to determine the health of the donor?

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