Necrotic Damage

Necrosis is a form of bodily injury that results in the total death of living tissue by enzyme digestion. Because the body is not merely injured or the flesh ruptured, but completely dead, necrosis cannot be counted as a 'poisoning' of the flesh, nor a 'disease' - therefore, necrosis cannot be saved against as a poison nor cured as a disease. Furthermore, as necrosis is not a wound, the flesh surrounding the damage cannot be bound together by spells such as cure light wounds, cure serious wounds or cure critical wounds. These spells will only serve to close the body over the necrosis, while leaving the dead tissue under the skin where it can continue to spread and kill the body.

However, an aid spell will restore lost hit points to necrosis (though one must be a believer in the cleric's religion) as will a heal spell. Both healing salves and boric serum will be effective against necrosis.

Rest of any kind will have no effect whatsoever on necrosis-damaged hit points, nor will binding wounds. In fact, necrosis will have the opposite effect as rest, causing the affected creature to lose 1 hit point per level per day as the necrosis spreads through the body. Any necrosis damaged tissue that is left will continue to destroy health flesh at the same rate. This will continue until all hit points lost to necrosis are restored or the character dies.

Violet fungi, green slime, yellow mold and numerous other creatures cause necrotic damage.

See Damage