The pestilence is typically caught from contact with bodily fluids of a creature carrying the disease. Every round that a creature is in contact with an infected creature or some of its fluid, it must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or contract the disease. Anyone infected will begin losing hit points at a rate of one per hour until death. A DC 10 Constitution saving throw is allowed each hour to avoid the hit point loss for that hour, but the process continues afterwards. Magical healing increases the victim’s hit points, but the progress of the disease continues after the curing. Lesser restoration completely removes the disease and return the victim back to health, although it does not restore the lost hit points. If the victim dies from the course of the disease, the body rises as a plague zombie in 1d4+1 rounds. A sprinkling of holy water or a lesser restoration spell cast on the body prevents this from happening. The body may be raised from the dead normally, but not while it is still “alive” as a plague zombie.