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[[File:Cursed bow.png|thumb|''A man afflicted by a cursed bow.''|375x375px]]
A '''curse''' was a powerful, negative [[magic]]al effect placed upon a person, place, or object.<ref name="PHB3e-p203">{{Cite book/Player's Handbook v.3.5|203}}</ref><ref name="PHB5e-p218">{{Cite book/Player's Handbook 5th edition|218}}</ref><ref name="DMG3.5-p272">{{Cite book/Dungeon Master's Guide v.3.5|272}}</ref>

==Effects==
Curses could have a wide variety effects, but often involved weakening, injuring, or thwarting the intentions of an afflicted individual<ref name="PHB3e-p203" /><ref name="PHB5e-p218" /><ref name="PHB4e-p131">{{Cite book/Player's Handbook 4th edition|131}}</ref> or destabilizing an afflicted item.<ref name="DMG3.5-p272" />

In general, a curse was hard to remove. Only a handful of specialized [[spell]]s&mdash;such as ''[[remove curse]]''&mdash;could hope to remove even a weak curse. A more powerful curse needed great power to remove, if it was possible to remove at all.<ref name="PHB3e-p203" /><ref name="PHB5e-p218" /><ref name="DMG3.5-p272" /> The [[fancy stones|fancy stone]] [[tremair]], when worn next to the skin, was believed to grant immunity from all magical curses.<ref name="VGtATM-52">{{Cite book/Volo's Guide to All Things Magical|52}}</ref>

== Types of Curses==
===Spell Curses===
The most fundamental curse was the one created by the spell ''[[bestow curse]]''.<ref name="PHB3e-p203" /><ref name="PHB5e-p218" /> Other common spell curses were ''[[bestow greater curse]]'', ''[[curse water]]'', ''[[geas/quest]]'', ''[[hex]]'', ''[[Laeral's crowning touch]]'', and ''[[lesser geas]]''.

===Item Curses===
Any mundane or magical item could become a [[:Category:Cursed items|cursed item]], and pass that curse onto individuals who possessed the item. Often, this type of item was created as a trap by an individual, an accident, or the decay of time.<ref name="DMG3.5-p272" /><ref name="DMG3.5-p214">{{Cite book/Dungeon Master's Guide v.3.5|214}}</ref>

Cursed weapons would bind themselves to a wielder, forcing them to fight to the death or otherwise preventing the wielder from getting rid of the weapon.<ref name="1eDMG-p166">{{Cite book/Dungeon Masters Guide 1st edition|166}}</ref>

===Family Curses===
This type of curse often started as one of the other types, but changed over time to affect the whole family of a cursed individual. In some rare cases, a powerful curse could be put on a whole family.<ref name="HoH-p35">{{Cite book/Hall of Heroes|35}}</ref>

===Divine Curses===
This type of curse was inflicted on a person, place or thing in accord with a [[god]]'s ethos. They were always powerful and often spectacular.<ref name="RoF-p35">{{Cite book/Races of Faerûn|35}}</ref> A primary example was the [[Curse of Mystra]], which afflicted any individual who willfully copied the [[Mage sigil|sigil]] of a [[mage]] with the intent to impersonate that mage.<ref name="FRCS3e-p28">{{Cite book/Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition|28}}</ref>

=== Undeath===
The existence of undead was sometimes considered a curse on life.<ref name="LoD(1)-p1-2">{{Cite book/Lords of Darkness 1st edition|1-2}}</ref>

===Warlock's Curses===
Some [[warlock]]s had the ability to bestow minor curses onto their foes in battle, which made the afflicted targets more vulnerable to the warlock's attacks and magics.<ref name="PHB4e-p131" />

==Appendix==
===References===
{{Refs}}
[[Category:Magic]]
[[Category:Curses]]