low Death spells

[alhoon]

I was putting this down along with 2 page long explanation and then the computer crashed so I lost everything. Even the text I have saved...

So here is a shorter version, with fewer explanations.

Sever Life, lesser:
Necromantic 3rd. Range close. Fortitude: partial

This spell snuffs out the life from those with weak enough life-force.
If the target of this spell has up to 3 hp/caster level remaining (up to 30 in 10th level) he/she dies unless he/she makes a fortitude save. If the save succeeds or the target has more than 3hp/caster level, he takes 1hp damage/caster level instead.

Comparing with lighting bolt:
- Lighting bolt does 3.5 hp/level on average and 1.75 with a successful save. Sever life does 3 hp/level +10 since it kills instead of dropping the enemy unconsious or 1 hp/level on a successful save.
- Lighting bolt affects undead, constructs and people protected by death ward
- Sever life affects those with resist energy spells etc
- lighting bolt affects equally those with many hp
- lighting bolt affects many targets
- Monsters and enemies usually have higher fortitude saves than reflex saves
- Those that have low fortitude usually have low hit points too.

Sever life:
Necromantic 4th.
Like lesser but up to 4hp/level (max 40hp on 10th level). On successful fortitude, the spell does 3 hit points damage/ 2 caster levels.
This spell presents much problem for wizards facing a spellcaster with even 1 caster level more than they (since this spell will probably kill them).

Sever Life, mass:
Necromantic 4th. Area: 20' spread. Targets: creat/level
Up to 1 target per level or a total sum of 6 hit points/caster level. Creatures with lower hit points affected first. Creatures with less than 2hp/caster level must save or die. Creatures that succeed the save or have more than 2hp/caster level just take 1hp of damage/caster level.

These spells may not be as powerful as the more dramatic fireball/lighting bolt spells. They are for the kind of "The mage said a few words and waved his hands and Albert died! No flashes of mystic energy, no arcane fire. He just dropped dead" encounter. Also they are for a different kind of target than the usual d6/reflex half spells.

Additions:
- If any variation of the "Sever life" spells is cast upon the innocent, it backfires back to the caster. However the caster gets a +2 to fortitude saves.
- While these spells do not have the evil descriptor, the chance to fail a powers check is 2% per spell level, not 1%.
- A creature under the effects of a bless, protection from evil or aid spell gets a +2 resistance bonus to fortitude saves against this spell in Ravenloft.

[Undead Cabbage]

Hey Alhoon,

I'll be honest and say it still feels a little unbalanced. Yes, fireball does more damage: however to balance fireball there is always the threat of damaging your allies as well (as with lightning bolt).

If you were going to add this spell, I would make Necromancy a much more restrictive school, as per Evocation or Transmutation.

One way to balance this out might be that it must be a touch attack. Even higher level death spells, such as Touch of Death, require a touch. This has the obvious disadvantage of bringing the wizard into melee.

The save seems a little more like a will save. The idea of sucking the life out of someone more has to do with inner will power than physical toughness. It seems like the type of spell a wizard could resist, but fighters might have trouble with. This further balances it, since if it need to be a touch attack, you become an optimal target for what are themselves optimal targets (fighter types) for this spell.

Idea: Material component: A piece of the target's flesh or other body part, be it blood, bone, skin, etc.

Have no mercy for the powers checks on this one. You're essentially picking on the little guy with this spell: I'd make it a higher percentage than it should normally be.

To make things more Ravenloftesque, there could be some other details to the spell:

- since you're messing with death too early in your career, if the target succeeds its save the caster is dealt damage equal to the targets current amount of hit points.
- casting Gentle Repose on a living target shields it from this spell.
- This spell does not work against innocents. This is more so players don't get out of hand, slaughtering towns of people for the sheer hell of it.

[Gemathustra]

I agree...
Sever life seems quite unbalanced.
At the very least, it just doesn't seem right, atmospherically, as, to me at least, what with being a "point and die" kind of spell.
Perhaps a wisp of green mist issues forth from the caster and travels towards the victim?

[alhoon]

I'll be honest and say it still feels a little unbalanced. Yes, fireball does more damage: however to balance fireball there is always the threat of damaging your allies as well (as with lightning bolt).

The save seems a little more like a will save. The idea of sucking the life out of someone more has to do with inner will power than physical toughness.

To make things more Ravenloftesque, there could be some other details to the spell:

- since you're messing with death too early in your career, if the target succeeds its save the caster is dealt damage equal to the targets current amount of hit points.
- casting Gentle Repose on a living target shields it from this spell.
- This spell does not work against innocents. This is more so players don't get out of hand, slaughtering towns of people for the sheer hell of it.

All your points have been around my mind for almost a year.

Fireball has the risk of harming your allies, yes but it affects many targets. A 3rd level spell that damages a single target without save would do 1d6 per level and would not be unbalanced.

Finger of death, the spell that started it all requires a fortitude save. So sever life (a lower level variation of finger of death) should do the same.

About the aditions: I love the innoncent is immune rule! I'll include it.

The "so early" in your career messing with death spells doesn't feel right to me.
I believe that a 7th level mage is an accomplished one! In my games, the wizard in the dusty catacombs filled with undead or on the top of the creepy tower guarded by monsters of legend is a 7th-8th level one.
(And the "monsters of legend" are charmed minotaurs or trolls not flame-breathing dragons etc). I want my players (once they reach 9th-10th level) to feel they are very special in the world and true one-in-the-million heroes.

One way to balance this out might be that it must be a touch attack. Even higher level death spells, such as Touch of Death, require a touch. This has the obvious disadvantage of bringing the wizard into melee.

Idea: Material component: A piece of the target's flesh or other body part, be it blood, bone, skin, etc.

Have no mercy for the powers checks on this one.

I have thought about that. However inflict serious wounds at 5th level causes on average 18.5 damage and it is a cleric spell. A wizard touch spell that causes 25 damage with a touch seems weak in comparison. Also I'm itching for the "point and die" spell.

The material component: Now you get me thinking... It seems nice and balances things but it is very hard to come by. Yet it is too nice to not include it...


Gemathursa: The main reason I came up with this spell is that Finger of death seems cool but the villain must be an archmage or something to be able to do this! In my opinion Gemathustra it seems right for the evil mage to have a "point and die" spell. I was banging my head on a wall to find a way to do balance this urging.