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I'm the DM for a group playing Out of the Abyss. At this point in the game many of my players suffer from indefinite madness. The players want to know how to cure this, however even I don't know, is their a page in the DM's handbook or Out of Abyss where the cure for madness is located? Thank you.

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up vote 17 down vote accepted

From the DMG 260:

A calm emotions spell can suppress the effects of madness, while a lesser restoration spell can rid a character of a short-term or long-term madness. Depending on the source of the madness, remove curse or dispel evil might also prove effective. A greater restoration spell or more powerful magic is required to rid a character of indefinite madness.

So it looks like greater restoration would be the easiest method. Barring that, miracle or wish could likely do so as well.

In previous editions, the heal spell also cured madness. While the text for 5e's heal doesn't mention madness, neither does greater restoration's text. Only the section on madness mentions mentions it, and it also mentions "more powerful magic." Since heal is 6th-level and greater restoration is 5th-level, there's some precedent for allowing heal to work as well.

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I'm not in a position to do the research myself at the moment, but don't braincap mushrooms from one of the modules also cure madness? – QDust 17 hours ago
    
@QDust Haven't got the module itself, so I was just going off of what's available from the core books – StephenTG 15 hours ago
up vote 20 down vote

You can't be insane.... if you don't have a brain!

One of the methods I prefer to utilize to curing madness involves the following steps:

  1. Attack party member until rendering them unconscious.
  2. Restrain party member on sturdy table with chains, shackles and ropes.
  3. Have Igor fetch THE CAGE.
  4. Release Intellect Devourer (it's very important to have this step done in advance)
  5. Wait until Intellect Devourer has completed it's task.

Intellect Devourer, MM pg. 191

Basically, the Intellect Devourer has two abilities that will help remove the madness from your party member. The first, Devour Intellect will eventually put your party member in the stunned condition. At that point, the Intellect Devourer can use Body Thief. This will devour the party members brain, and replace their mental scores with the Intellect Devourer's INT, WIS and CHA. It also retains everything the character knows, including spells and languages.

Now, the Intellect Devourer is lawful evil, so as long as you provide it with a good reason to help you out (mutual gain for example), there's no real reason it HAS to be hostile to you. Also, the DM could just let the player keep playing as the Intellect Devourer infested host. I mean, TECHNICALLY the character isn't dead.

Barring this solution, Restoration and Greater Restoration take care of Madness. I prefer organic approaches though. They're uhhh....... gluten free.

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Kind of like fixing a pocket watch with a hammer, but I like it... – Zeiss Ikon 15 hours ago
15  
This is more like fixing a pocket watch by replacing it with a Mimic. Sure it could eat your arm at any time, but the point is, and I can't stress this enough, it technically works. – Lino Frank Ciaralli 15 hours ago
    
I've already accepted an answer, but this is fething hilarious! – Bigbo Biggins 13 hours ago
    
@BigboBiggins fething? Where did a hobbit learn some futuristic language I wonder...... – Patrice 10 hours ago
1  
You are wrong. the character is dead, replaced by the intellect devourer. But to be fair, let's ask this as a question. – Mindwin 8 hours ago

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