The Shakes

The Shakes is a legacy contact disease that causes severe trembling and loss of coordination. Its rules are presented here for Pathfinder 1e and compatible d20 material.

Legacy Disease Statistics

Symptoms

The disease is characterised by persistent trembling, weakness in fine control and worsening coordination. The mechanical Dexterity damage represents those symptoms becoming serious enough to affect movement, balance and precise actions.

Running the Disease

Track the one-day onset before applying the first daily effect. After that, resolve the disease according to the legacy disease rules until the victim achieves the required consecutive saves or receives an appropriate cure.

Edition Note

Do not transfer these statistics directly into 5e/2014 or 5.5e/2024. Those editions handle disease and ability damage differently. This page preserves the original legacy mechanic rather than inventing a modern conversion.

Adventure Use

A contact disease is especially useful as an environmental threat: contaminated tools, handling an infected corpse, tainted surfaces or an outbreak in a crowded settlement can all create danger without requiring direct combat.