Index of Spells by Theme Group - Death Effects

Kills, paralyzes, weakens, or dazes nonevil subjects.

Any nonevil creature within the area of a blasphemy spell suffers the following ill effects.

The effects are cumulative and concurrent.

No saving throw is allowed against these effects.

Dazed: The creature can take no actions for 1 round, though it defends itself normally.

Weakened: The creature's Strength score decreases by 2d6 points for 2d4 rounds.

Paralyzed: The creature is paralyzed and helpless for 1d10 minutes.

Killed: Living creatures die. Undead creatures are destroyed.

Furthermore, if you are on your home plane when you cast this spell, nonevil extraplanar creatures within the area are instantly banished back to their home planes. Creatures so banished cannot return for at least 24 hours. This effect takes place regardless of whether the creatures hear the blasphemy. The banishment effect allows a Will save (at a -4 penalty) to negate.

Creatures whose Hit Dice exceed your caster level are unaffected by blasphemy.

Kills 1d4/level HD of creatures.

A circle of death snuffs out the life force of living creatures, killing them instantly.

The spell slays 1d4 HD worth of living creatures per caster level (maximum 20d4). Creatures with the fewest HD are affected first; among creatures with equal HD, those who are closest to the bursts point of origin are affected first. No creature of 9 or more HD can be affected, and Hit Dice that are not sufficient to affect a creature are wasted.

Kills 3 HD or less; 4-6 HD save or die, 6+ HD take Con damage.

This spell generates a bank of fog, similar to a fog cloud, except that its vapors are yellowish green and poisonous. These vapors automatically kill any living creature with 3 or fewer HD (no save). A living creature with 4 to 6 HD is slain unless it succeeds on a Fortitude save (in which case it takes 1d4 points of Constitution damage on your turn each round while in the cloud).

A living creature with 6 or more HD takes 1d4 points of Constitution damage on your turn each round while in the cloud (a successful Fortitude save halves this damage). Holding ones breath doesn't help, but creatures immune to poison are unaffected by the spell.

Unlike a fog cloud, the cloudkill moves away from you at 10 feet per round, rolling along the surface of the ground.

Figure out the clouds new spread each round based on its new point of origin, which is 10 feet farther away from the point of origin where you cast the spell.

Because the vapors are heavier than air, they sink to the lowest level of the land, even pouring down den or sinkhole openings. It cannot penetrate liquids, nor can it be cast underwater.

Kills dying creature; you gain 1d8 temporary hp, +2 to Str, and +1 level.

You draw forth the ebbing life force of a creature and use it to fuel your own power. Upon casting this spell, you touch a living creature that has -1 or fewer hit points. If the subject fails its saving throw, it dies, and you gain 1d8 temporary hit points and a +2 bonus to Strength. Additionally, your effective caster level goes up by +1, improving spell effects dependent on caster level. (This increase in effective caster level does not grant you access to more spells.) These effects last for 10 minutes per HD of the subject creature.

Kills subject and destroys remains.

This spell instantly slays the subject and consumes its remains (but not its equipment and possessions) utterly. If the target's Fortitude saving throw succeeds, it instead takes 10d6 points of damage. The only way to restore life to a character who has failed to save against this spell is to use true resurrection, a carefully worded wish spell followed by resurrection, or miracle.

Kills, paralyzes, slows, or deafens nonlawful subjects.

Any nonlawful creature within the area of a dictum spell suffers the following ill effects.

The effects are cumulative and concurrent. No saving throw is allowed against these effects.

Deafened: The creature is deafened for 1d4 rounds.

Slowed: The creature is slowed, as by the slow spell, for 2d4 rounds.

Paralyzed: The creature is paralyzed and helpless for 1d10 minutes.

Killed: Living creatures die. Undead creatures are destroyed.

Furthermore, if you are on your home plane when you cast this spell, nonlawful extraplanar creatures within the area are instantly banished back to their home planes. Creatures so banished cannot return for at least 24 hours. This effect takes place regardless of whether the creatures hear the dictum. The banishment effect allows a Will save (at a 4 penalty) to negate.

Creatures whose HD exceed your caster level are unaffected by dictum.

Kills one subject.

You can slay any one living creature within range. The target is entitled to a Fortitude saving throw to survive the attack. If the save is successful, the creature instead takes 3d6 points of damage +1 point per caster level (maximum +25).

The subject might die from damage even if it succeeds on its saving throw.

Kills, paralyzes, blinds, or deafens nongood subjects.

Any nongood creature within the area that hears the holy word suffers the following ill effects.

The effects are cumulative and concurrent. No saving throw is allowed against these effects.

Deafened: The creature is deafened for 1d4 rounds.

Blinded: The creature is blinded for 2d4 rounds.

Paralyzed: The creature is paralyzed and helpless for 1d10 minutes.

Killed: Living creatures die. Undead creatures are destroyed.

Furthermore, if you are on your home plane when you cast this spell, nongood extraplanar creatures within the area are instantly banished back to their home planes. Creatures so banished cannot return for at least 24 hours. This effect takes place regardless of whether the creatures hear the holy word. The banishment effect allows a Will save (at a -4 penalty) to negate. Creatures whose HD exceed your caster level are unaffected by holy word.

Kills one creature/round.

You create a destructive resonance in a corporeal creatures body. For each round you concentrate, you cause one creature to collapse in on itself, killing it. (This effect, being instantaneous, cannot be dispelled.)

You can target a particular creature only once with each casting of the spell.

Implosion has no effect on creatures in gaseous form or on incorporeal creatures.

Fearsome illusion kills subject or deals 3d6 damage.

You create a phantasmal image of the most fearsome creature imaginable to the subject simply by forming the fears of the subject's subconscious mind into something that its conscious mind can visualize: this most horrible beast. Only the spell's subject can see the phantasmal killer. You see only a vague shape. The target first gets a Will save to recognize the image as unreal. If that save fails, the phantasm touches the subject, and the subject must succeed on a Fortitude save or die from fear. Even if the Fortitude save is successful, the subject takes 3d6 points of damage.

If the subject of a phantasmal killer attack succeeds in disbelieving and is wearing a helm of telepathy, the beast can be turned upon you. You must then disbelieve it or become subject to its deadly fear attack.

Kills one creature with 100 hp or less.

You utter a single word of power that instantly kills one creature of your choice, whether the creature can hear the word or not. Any creature that currently has 101 or more hit points is unaffected by power word kill.

Touch attack kills subject.

You can slay any one living creature. You must succeed on a melee touch attack to touch the subject, and it can avoid death with a successful Fortitude save. If it succeeds, it instead takes 3d6 points of damage +1 point per caster level.

Triggered rune slays nearby creatures.

This spell allows you to scribe a potent rune of power upon a surface. When triggered, a symbol of death slays one or more creatures within 60 feet of the symbol (treat as a burst) whose combined total current hit points do not exceed 150. The symbol of death affects the closest creatures first, skipping creatures with too many hit points to affect. Once triggered, the symbol becomes active and glows, lasting for 10 minutes per caster level or until it has affected 150 hit points worth of creatures, whichever comes first. Any creature that enters the area while the symbol of death is active is subject to its effect, whether or not that creature was in the area when it was triggered. A creature need save against the symbol only once as long as it remains within the area, though if it leaves the area and returns while the symbol is still active, it must save again.

Until it is triggered, the symbol of death is inactive (though visible and legible at a distance of 60 feet). To be effective, a symbol of death must always be placed in plain sight and in a prominent location. Covering or hiding the rune renders the symbol of death ineffective, unless a creature removes the covering, in which case the symbol of death works normally.

As a default, a symbol of death is triggered whenever a creature does one or more of the following, as you select: looks at the rune; reads the rune; touches the rune; passes over the rune; or passes through a portal bearing the rune. Regardless of the trigger method or methods chosen, a creature more than 60 feet from a symbol of death can't trigger it (even if it meets one or more of the triggering conditions, such as reading the rune). Once the spell is cast, a symbol of death's triggering conditions cannot be changed.

In this case, reading the rune means any attempt to study it, identify it, or fathom its meaning. Throwing a cover over a symbol of death to render it inoperative triggers it if the symbol reacts to touch. You cant use a symbol of death offensively; for instance, a touch-triggered symbol of death remains untriggered if an item bearing the symbol of death is used to touch a creature. Likewise, a symbol of death cannot be placed on a weapon and set to activate when the weapon strikes a foe.

You can also set special triggering limitations of your own. These can be as simple or elaborate as you desire. Special conditions for triggering a symbol of death can be based on a creatures name, identity, or alignment, but otherwise must be based on observable actions or qualities. Intangibles such as level, class, Hit Dice, and hit points dont qualify.

When scribing a symbol of death, you can specify a password or phrase that prevents a creature using it from triggering the effect. Anyone using the password remains immune to that particular runes effects so long as the creature remains within 60 feet of the rune. If the creature leaves the radius and returns later, it must use the password again.

You also can attune any number of creatures to the symbol of death, but doing this can extend the casting time. Attuning one or two creatures takes negligible time, and attuning a small group (as many as ten creatures) extends the casting time to 1 hour. Attuning a large group (as many as twenty-five creatures) takes 24 hours. Attuning larger groups takes proportionately longer. Any creature attuned to a symbol of death cannot trigger it and is immune to its effects, even if within its radius when triggered. You are automatically considered attuned to your own symbols of death, and thus always ignore the effects and cannot inadvertently trigger them.

Read magic allows you to identify a symbol of death with a DC 19 Spellcraft check. Of course, if the symbol of death is set to be triggered by reading it, this will trigger the symbol.

A symbol of death can be removed by a successful dispel magic targeted solely on the rune. An erase spell has no effect on a symbol of death. Destruction of the surface where a symbol of death is inscribed destroys the symbol but also triggers it.

Symbol of death can be made permanent with a permanency spell. A permanent symbol of death that is disabled or that has affected its maximum number of hit points becomes inactive for 10 minutes, then can be triggered again as normal.

Note: Magic traps such as symbol of death are hard to detect and disable. A rogue (only) can use the Search skill to find a symbol of death and Disable Device to thwart it. The DC in each case is 25 + spell level, or 33 for symbol of death.

Kills one creature/level.

You emit a terrible scream that kills creatures that hear it (except for yourself). Creatures closest to the point of origin are affected first.

As phantasmal killer, but affects all within 30 ft.

You create a phantasmal image of the most fearsome creatures imaginable to the subjects simply by forming the fears of the subjects' subconscious mind into something that their conscious minds can visualize: these most horrible beasts. Only the spell's subjects can see the phantasmal killers. You see only vague shapes. The targets first gets a Will save to recognize the images as unreal. If that save fails, the phantasms touch their subject, and the subjects must succeed on a Fortitude save or die from fear. Even if the Fortitude save is successful, the subjects takes 3d6 points of damage and is stunned for 1 round. The subject also takes 1d4 points of temporary Strength damage.

If a subject of a Weird attack succeeds in disbelieving and is wearing a helm of telepathy, the beast can be turned upon you. You must then disbelieve it or become subject to its deadly fear attack.

Kills, confuses, stuns, or deafens nonchaotic subjects.

Any nonchaotic creature within the area who hears the word of chaos suffers the following ill effects.

The effects are cumulative and concurrent. No saving throw is allowed against these effects.

Deafened: The creature is deafened for 1d4 rounds.

Stunned: The creature is stunned for 1 round.

Confused: The creature is confused, as by the confusion spell, for 1d10 minutes. This is a mind-affecting enchantment effect.

Killed: Living creatures die. Undead creatures are destroyed.

Furthermore, if you are on your home plane when you cast this spell, nonchaotic extraplanar creatures within the area are instantly banished back to their home planes. Creatures so banished cannot return for at least 24 hours. This effect takes place regardless of whether the creatures hear the word of chaos. The banishment effect allows a Will save (at a 4 penalty) to negate. Creatures whose HD exceed your caster level are unaffected by word of chaos.