Heart Blight
With this spell, an evil necromancer-priest can exert his or her dark will on the still-beating heart of any living subject, provided the creature remains in clear view (line of sight) and within the spell’s range. After casting the spell, the priest must focus his or her entire concentration on the subject’s heart for three rounds, during which time the caster cannot cast other spells or engage in melee. The priest can, however, walk, talk, and take ordinary defensive precautions while the spell runs its course through the subject.
During the first round of the spell, this subject must make a saving throw vs. death magic with a -2 penalty. This saving throw is modified by the subject’s hit point adjustment due to Constitution. If the subject makes this first saving throw, the spell fails to take hold of his or her heart and has no further effect. A subject who fails the save, however, suffers a massive spasm of pain (similar to a heart attack). This causes 18 points of damage and completely incapacitates the subject for one excruciating round.
During the second round, the subject must make another saving throw, this time with a -1 penalty (modified for Constitution). As before, a successful saving thmw ends the spell with no further effect. Failure, however, intensifies the chest pains, as if a searing hand of iron was being slowly tightened around the heart. The subject experiences severe dizziness, disorientation, and terrible shooting pains in the arms, jaw, and left shoulder. Meanwhile, the subject loses 25% of any remaining hit points, is paralyzed with pain for d4+1 rounds, and immediately loses d4+1 points of Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity. Providing the subject survives the final stage of the spell (see below), these lost points are regained at a rate of 1 point in each ability score per day.
On the third round of the spell, the subject must make a (third, unmodified) saving throw vs. death magic or suffer a massive heart attack, resulting in immediate death (onset time is 1 round, during which the subject is completely incapacitated). Alternatively, a kind DM might decide that the final phase of the spell merely plunges the subject into a deep, deathlike coma, lasting d4 days and resulting in the permanent loss of 1 point of Constitution.
This deadly spell can be thwarted in a number of ways. Successfully casting dispel magic on either the subject or the priest disrupts the heart blight, as does casting a simple protection from evil spell on the subject or wearing a scarab of protection (from which it drains a charge). Furthermore, the subject may be allowed to repeat a saving throw with a +2 bonus if treated by another character with the Healing nonweapon proficiency. Finally, the spell is immediately broken if the subject is transported out of range or removed from the priest’s line of sight. Because of its murderous effect, this spell is only granted to wicked priests by the gods of Death, Disease, and Evil.
Somatic, Verbal
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