This one could play out in a number of different ways. One of its many
good points as a plot in a game would be that once the players realise
that something is going on they will almost certainly come up with
lots and lots of different potential outcomes. Here are a few:
- super-healing: as Peter suggested, similar to cancer with extra
growths turning up. In RQ terms, perhaps your Heal spells are
multiplied by 1D6, and the extra hit points become extra lumps of
flesh. The downside might be, it doesn't kill you, it just makes you
into more and more of a lump of disorganised flesh - like a Pochargo
monster.
- Lack of disease (temporary effect): This is how I would have
interpreted it. No disease, no sniffles, no headaches. All of this
suffering builds up somewhere and when the dam breaks everyone suffers
from everything all at once. Timescales of a season or two would be
enough, IMO as a Consultant to Malia Shamans, to do serious damage and
death when it happens.
- Lack of disease (long term): So after a few seasons or years,
sacrifice to Chalana Arroy might decline (or increase, if by some sort
of propaganda, the benefits can be linked to the goddess so everyone
is thankful - unlikely). Pilgrims would come from far away to try to
find the source of health (assuming a local affect), or just live in
the healthy place. Old people just keep on going. Whether the effects
of old age are counted as disease or not would need to be decided. I'd
say that it wasn't, but was instead the gradual build up of damage.
- The old and weak don't die. But they stay old and weak. Perhaps
they get older and weaker but still don't die. Maybe starvation
doesn't even kill them, just makes them weaker, fading away.
- Suffering goes away. As Gian suggested, this might lead to a self
centred society. Perhaps the suffering is actually being channelled to
someone else and they're pissed off about it. Perhaps the players are
the ones that the suffering is being sent to. Scapegoats for
suffering.
Got to go, lots more I'm sure
Keith