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Curse

Struck with both curses at once.

A curse is a status ailment that can be inflicted on a player when they are hit by a Zombie or Poison Elemental (not to be confused with the verbal curses hurled by means of the "/insult" command). When you are cursed, a blue message will appear in the text log reading, "You have been cursed."

There are two distinct types of curses: the stink curse and the babble curse. A single Zombie / Poison Elemental can only inflict one type of curse at a time, and they will not always inflict a curse with every hit. Thus, the more times you are hit by such a creature, the higher chance you have of being cursed.

When afflicted with the babble curse, anything that the player tries to say will appear as "Babble babble babble" to all players, including themselves. Not even clerics can understand this babble. The babble curse is considered the more dangerous of the two curses, for two reasons: it inhibits communication during hunts, and it prevents magic-users from casting spells (since they are unable to utter the necessary magic words).

The stink curse, on the other hand, surrounds the player with a noxious odor. This curse was for many years considered to be harmless (unpleasant odors notwithstanding). But when Oberin's code went open source in 2018, it was discovered that the stink curse makes players more likely to be targeted by creatures. Even so, it is almost always preferable to hit with the stink curse instead of the babble curse.

Curses can be removed by clerics who have the Remove Curse spell (Magery/Cleric Level 5). Temple priests will also cast this spell on any player for the small fee of 12 GP. Otherwise a player can use a Ring of Remove Curse – and indeed, mages are highly recommended to carry such a ring at all times, especially when visiting areas with Zombies and Poison Elementals. Another option to help prevent curses is the Charm of Purity, which reduces the chance of being cursed by 30%. And then lastly there is one final, non-recommended way to remove a curse: die and be resurrected.

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