Tears of the Hungerer

Said to have been specially designed as a poison by the Ebon Syndicate with the help of necromancers, this affliction is spread by a single drop of a particularly virulent substance, or by the bite of an infected person.
It irremediably debilitates the victim rather than killing it, rendering them capable only of looking for other living beings to bite—and thus transmit the disease.
The transformation takes effect in a few minutes and if not efficiently addressed—ideally by burning the affected person—the Tears can easily transform a whole town into a zombie nightmare in only a few days. The substance is only known to have been used once, in a place now known as the Cinder Circle.
The confederation of archmages known in the Thaumaturge, in a rare public act, gathered to cast a powerful spell and thus reduce to ashes the entire city of Walstein that had been contaminated by the Tears.
Since then, no other manifestations have been reported, but the reputation of this horrible disease has spread all over Etharis.

Transmission & Vectors

The Tears of the Hungerer is transmitted between humanoids through blood contact such as a bite or scratch. If a humanoid takes damage from an unarmed attack made by an infected creature, they must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, becoming infected with the Tears on a failed save.

Symptoms

A creature infected with the Tears of the Hungerer reduces its hit point maximum by 1d4 daily at dawn. If a creature’s hit point maximum is reduced to 0 then they die and become a zombie, infected with Tears of the Hungerer and under the GM’s control.

Treatment

Tears of the Hungerer can be removed by targeting an infected creature with the greater restoration or the heal spell.