I've finished implementing the common cold, influenza, and pneumonia to test out the new disease mechanics. The details of the conditions I'll leave you to discover in-game, but characters are at risk of contracting them when their hygiene drops below the acceptable threshold. That means if you bathe regularly enough, you'll probably never be patient zero for any of these diseases. That does not, however, mean that you'll never contract them; these are the first negative effects that you can spread to people around you! Obviously, hygiene and Fortitude both play a big role in your chance of contracting a disease, among other factors. This will require some testing and tweaking; but that's what you all are for! Characters who never bathe are probably going to end up spreading lots of diseases, especially if their fellow critters don't intervene. Baths and bathhouses will be crucial infrastructure to avoid folks getting sick all the time; maybe now we'll see a wayshrine of Jyra-Tul which offers them?

Most diseases are not *that* communicable, but if you spend prolonged periods of time in close contact with someone infected (say, hanging out in the tavern with them) you have a pretty good chance to pick up what they're suffering from in most cases. And don't worry; there will be ways to tell if people aren't inclined to warn others they're unwell. I'll be working on ticks and fleas next, but fear not; we'll be saying hello to our old friends cholera and dysentery soon too.