Ever seen Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom? Do you remember the opening scene, where Indie gets poisoned by unscrupulous business men? When the action kicks off, Indie is informed that he's been poisoned, and struggles to stay alive and recover the antidote.

Well, I've been thinking about that, and I recently slipped the entire party a mickey (Goodnight Tincture) to set them up for a spectacular battle. Now, only one party member is left standing, and the rest of the party has been knocked out. Now normally, that one player would have a really long time in the spotlight while everyone else gets bored. That's not really fun for everyone though. What do you do for the players with knocked out characters?

My solution: Disease Tracks

I've figured out a tweak for disease tracks that I think will work really well. Check it out:

Normal Disease Track:

Disease Track: Every disease has at least three states, arrayed on a a row of effects called the disease’s track: cured (the target is no longer affected), the disease’s initial effect, and the disease’s final state.

Disease Progression: Once you’re infected, make an Endurance check each extended rest to see if you improve, worsen, or maintain your current condition. A disease specifies two target Endurance DCs: a lower DC to maintain and a higher DC to improve.

The significant changes to the disease track for combat encounters:

1) Players roll every round to improve or worsen

2) Players can recover from the final state during the encounter.

For example

Goodnight Tincture (Scaled for an 8th Level Party): 

Initial Effect: The target takes  a -2 penalty to attack rolls

Secondary Effect: The target takes  a -2 penalty to attack rolls and is weakened (Your attacks deal half damage. Ongoing damage you deal is not affected.) 

Final Effect: The target falls unconscious. 

I've got a game coming up soon where I'll put this to the test. Sure it's only one die roll,  but I think it will help keep everyone engaged as they claw their way back to consciousness.