Disease System
Complex Biological Threats and Recovery
Diseases in RuneEra represent persistent, evolving threats that create long-term strategic challenges for settlement management. Unlike simple debuffs, diseases feature progressive severity, contagion mechanics, and complex recovery systems that affect humanoids, animals, and even plant life.
Disease Characteristics
Multi-Layered Threat System
Progressive Penalty System
- Escalating Effects: Disease penalties increase in severity over time if left untreated
- Compound Consequences: Multiple diseases can stack, creating devastating combined effects
- Time-Sensitive: Early intervention is crucial for preventing severe complications
Transmission Varieties
- Fatal Diseases: Can result in permanent death if not properly managed
- Contagious Diseases: Spread between individuals through proximity and contact
Disease Sources and Transmission
Multiple Infection Vectors
Environmental Sources
- Biome Events: Environmental disease outbreaks that immediately infect exposed individuals. Jungle biomes have significantly higher disease occurrence rates
- Social Transmission: Diseases spread through close proximity between humanoids
- Diseased Animals: Infected wildlife that spread diseases through combat
- Environmental Hazards: Toxic weather
Three-Stage Disease Progression
Complex Recovery Mechanics
Stage 1: Infection
Initial Exposure and Transmission
- Proximity Transmission: Infection increases when humanoids are within close range of infected individuals
- Rapid Spread: Infection levels can rise quickly in crowded areas
- Natural Decay: Infection levels decrease when separated from infected sources
Stage 2: Disease Progression
Active Disease Development
- Time-Based Progression: Disease severity increases automatically over time depending on a stat modifier
- Escalating Effects: Negative effects become more severe as disease progresses
Stage 3: Immunity Development
Recovery and Protection
Immunity Acquisition
- Treatment Acceleration: Medical treatment significantly increases immunity development
- Rest Benefits: Resting in medical facilities enhances immunity gain
- Natural Recovery: Slow immunity development occurs even without treatment
Immunity Mechanics
- Disease Suppression: When immunity is achieved, disease progression slowly reverses toward 0%
- Temporary Protection: Upon reaching zero disease progression, immunity begins to fade
- Reinfection Protection: Active immunity prevents reinfection from the same disease
- Gradual Decline: Immunity decreases over time, eventually allowing reinfection
Strategic Disease Management
Settlement Health Infrastructure
Prevention Strategies
Environmental Controls
- Quarantine Protocols: Isolation of infected individuals prevents spread
- Medical Facilities: Dedicated medical rooms enhance treatment effectiveness and prevent spread
Treatment Approaches
Medical Infrastructure
- Trained Medics: Skilled medical personnel improves treatment quality that speed up recovery
- Medicine Production: Crafting higher grade bandages to improve quality
This comprehensive disease system creates ongoing challenges that may require manual intervention.
Disease Catalog
Comprehensive Threat Assessment
RuneEra features a diverse array of diseases, each presenting unique challenges and requiring specific management strategies. Understanding each disease's characteristics is crucial for effective settlement health management.
Non-Fatal Diseases
Manageable but Persistent Threats
These diseases create ongoing challenges but won't directly kill your humanoids if managed properly:
Dream Worm
- Effect: Decreases sleep gain efficiency
- Impact: Humanoids require longer rest periods to recover fully
Divoc Virus
- Effect: Reduces attack speed and damage multiplier
- Critical Threshold: Maintaining 100% disease progress induces permanent unconsciousness
Mind Root
- Effect: Decreases overall mood and mental well-being
- Impact: Affects social interactions and work motivation
Muscle Tremor
- Effect: Reduces work speed and endurance
- Impact: Significantly impacts physical labor efficiency
Nova Pox
- Effect: Decreases damage reduction and healing received multiplier
- Impact: Makes humanoids more vulnerable to combat and slower to recover
Stomach Bacteria
- Effect: Increases calorie consumption rate
- Impact: Requires additional food resources to maintain health
Fatal Diseases
Life-Threatening Conditions
These diseases can result in permanent death if not properly treated and require immediate medical attention:
Feral Fever
- Effect: Periodical chance to enter feral frenzy, causing infected humanoids to attack and consume nearby animals
- Danger: Can disrupt livestock and create chaos in settlements
Flu
- Effect: Significantly decreases movement speed
- Progression: Can become fatal if left untreated
Plague
- Effect: Drastically decreases healing received from all sources
- Danger: Makes recovery from other injuries or diseases extremely difficult
Rabies
- Effect: Periodically causes uncontrollable aggression toward other humanoids
- Transmission: Can spread infection through combat hits
Disease Management Strategies
- Immediate Response: Priority medical treatment and quarantine
- Resource Allocation: Dedicate best medical personnel and supplies
- Containment: Strict isolation protocols to prevent spread
Critical Disease Interactions
Compound Threat Assessment
Disease Stacking
- Multiple diseases can affect the same humanoid simultaneously
- Combined effects can create devastating penalties
- Priority treatment protocols needed for multiple infections
Social Impact
- Aggressive diseases (Rabies, Feral Fever) can disrupt entire settlements
- Contagious diseases require community-wide response protocols
- Economic impact from reduced work efficiency and increased resource consumption
This comprehensive disease system ensures that health management remains a constant strategic consideration, where preparation, rapid response, and proper medical infrastructure determine the difference between a thriving settlement and a colony devastated by disease.