[RPG] Does the Contagion spell infect the target immediately on a melee attack hit

diseasednd-5espells

Let's say I'm a cleric with the 5th level spell Contagion and I am successful on the melee attack. From the wording of the spell it seems that the effect kicks in immediately, but Jeremy Crawford said that it "activate[s] after three failed saving throws."

Josh‏ @SirJosh94 · 27 May 2015
@JeremyECrawford Do contagion effects kick in immediately or do they kick in when the target fails 3 saving throws?

Jeremy Crawford‏ @JeremyECrawford · 29 May 2015
The effects of the contagion spell's disease are meant to activate after three failed saving throws.

I agree with him on that part, that the disease chosen would continue or not based on the success or failure of three saving throws.

But I think that the wording is pretty clear:

Your touch inflicts disease. Make a melee spell attack against a
creature within your reach. On a hit, you afflict the creature with a
disease of your choice from any of the ones described below.

So which is true?

Does Contagion inflict the disease immediately, and the saves are just for determining whether the disease will become permanent for 7 days?

Best Answer

As per 2018 PHB Errata, Contagion now applies poison before it applies disease; RAW, the disease is only applied after 3 failed Constitution Saves.

New Contagion:

Your touch inflicts disease. Make a melee spell attack against a creature within your reach. On a hit, the target is poisoned.

At the end of each of the poisoned target's turns, the target must make a Constitution saving throw. If the target succeeds on three of these saves, it is no longer poisoned, and the spell ends. If the target fails three of these saves, the target is no longer poisoned, but choose one of the diseases below. The target is subjected to the chosen disease for the spell's duration.

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