Divine Death Curse

Gods do not go quietly. Death is always such a surprise to the immortal.

Although their immortality has proven to be a lie, the gods are powerful beings. Even in the Age of Darkness, they are anchored to the fabric of the world and their deaths reverberate like an echo that start an avalanche. When death nears by mortal hands, the gods grow vengeful and resentful, filled with anger that their creations and would-be servants have turned on them so. This malice sharpens the echo of their doom to a blade, an edge to carve a final curse upon the world before they pass beyond it.
These Divine Death Curses always relate to the domain of the god in question, and their scope depends on their power. Minor gods can damn a man to agony, but the powerful ones can topple cities, poison generations, or scourge knowledge from the world. Each curse is unique, but only rarely crafted with any foresight - gods, above all, seldom consider death to be a possibility before they stand at its treshold. As such, most curses are sudden, emotional things, meant to cause pain and torment for those who caused them to meet their end.
The Least Curses affect a person or a party, a small location or area, or handful of things. They lack the power to propagate themselves, ending with their victim or lingering in place without the means to spread further. These are the curses levied by the least of the gods with small domains and limited power. For the same reason, it is the most commonly encountered curse, as these divinities fall much more easily.

With his final words, the godling Ekthar cursed his slayers with a slow, lingering death. He had been a god of the earth, and so his slayers would slowly petrify over the years, starting where-ever his divine blood had splattered across their skin.

Great Curses damn cities or bloodlines, envelops entire species or fields of knowledge. This is the domain of the true divinities of the world, and their vengeance is great. These curses remain, as far as anyone can tell, forever. They are passed down through generations, remain etched in the soil like poison, or spread throughout mankind like a plague. Such curses have caused as much devastation on the world as the Hungry Dark.

by Midjourney by Q

When the god Zarus was butchered by the God-Hunters, he swore that no man would ever again forge steel. The curse infected all those who heard of it, causing them to forget the exact techniques they'd once used. Fortunately, Zarus was not careful in his word or intent - steelsmithing have been revived as a trade exclusively performed by women, under the auspice of the Sisterhood of Steel.

So far, no means of breaking a divine curse has been found. The scribes of the God-Hunters work ceaselessly at the matter, and know the power to break the curse will one day rest with humanity. After all, if we can kill gods, why can't we kill their curses, too?