Gray Wasting

"Gray wasting. This one must have been poking around where he shouldn't have. Don't bother looting, just burn him in place and we'll go find somewhere to take a bath..."
~Coramryn, "Bandit King"

Transmission & Vectors

Gray Wasting is not transmitted person-to-person. It is acquired from long exposure to a Tainted Places.

Causes

The Ambient Magic can be polluted and Tainted, incurring Taint on unfortunate or weak creatures that succumb to such evil influence. When this Taint reaches a certain point, it begins to self-perpetuate within a person like a contagion, and this is what's known as the Gray Wasting.

Symptoms

A person infected with the Gray Wasting begins to rot from the inside out. The most noticeable symptom is a distinctive graying of the skin. Nonessential organs go first, followed by fat and the less useful muscles. The more useful muscles come next, the withered husks becoming infused with negative energy. 
For the entirety of the process, the victim has a wasting of their brain. They become more and more vicious and spiteful, and less capable of thinking clearly. A few weeks after he infection sets in, they begin hearing homicidal voices in their head, and it becomes more and more difficult to ignore them.
After every Long Rest, the victim must roll a Charisma Save to maintain a grip on their personality. Every time they fail, they have disadvantage on mental ability checks and saves until they succeed another save after a Long Rest. If they fail three in a row, they begin to hear homicidal voices that tell them to murder people that they are interacting with. They must roll a Wisdom Save if they want to avoid obeying these voices.
Regardless of their rolls, the victim dies in roughly six months, their bodies ceasing to function. On the following Winter Solstice after they have died, they have a 25% chance of rising from the grave as a Ghoul (if their HD was 1-3), a Ghast (HD 4-7), a Wight (8-12), a Vampire (13-16), or a Mummy Lord (17-20).

Treatment

Once the Taint has progressed to the point of the Gray Wasting, recovery is a long and difficult journey. A Remove Curse spell cast on the victim while on Holy Ground suppresses the condition, allowing them to act normally and not deteriorate further. If the spell is cast on them every day for 30 days, the condition is broken and they can begin to recover from the Taint normally.
Likewise, strategically burning the victim with at least 10 points of radiant damage every day for 30 days likewise cures the condition.

Prognosis

Gray Wasting is a severe condition that, even cured, leaves lasting physical and psychological scars on the victim.

Cultural Reception

Gray Wasting sufferers are never left alone. They are either killed on the spot or they are delivered into the hands of the clergy or druids that might be able to cure them.

Type

Divine

Origin

Magical

Rarity

Rare