Campaign Design - Spells: Bestow Curse

Bestow Curse (from the Player's Handbook, as modified by the Witch's Handbook)
Illusion (Figment)

Level: Cleric/Favored Soul 3, Curse 3, Destiny 4, Distraction 3, Dragon Below 3, Fate 3, Hatred 3, Judgement 3, Orc 3, Order's Tyrant 3, Plague 4, Sorcerer/Wizard 4, Spirit 3, Suffering 3, Treachery 3, Tyranny 3, Unholy Warrior (Tunar and Tuni) 4, Vengeance 3, Witch 3

Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch

Target, Effect, or Area: Creature touched

Duration: Permanent

Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

You place a curse on the subject. Choose one of the following effects.

• The target suffers a -6 decrease to an ability score (minimum 1).


• The target suffers a -4 penalty on attack rolls, saves, ability checks, and skill checks. This is typically the result of an outbreak of an irritating rash or boils


• Each turn, the target has a 50% chance to act normally; otherwise, it takes no action. This is often the result of fits of sneezing, coughing, weeping, or laughter.


• The target becomes incapable of intentionally lying (even for the sake of diplomacy or social convention). In addition to the obvious drawbacks, the target suffers a -10 penalty to Bluff and Diplomacy checks.


• The target is shunned by animals, which do their best to avoid him. The target suffers a -10 enhancement penalty on Handle Animal and Ride checks and all Wild Empathy attempts. The target requires a Handle Animal check merely to approach an animal and a Ride check to do even routine riding.


• Circumstances always draw attention to the target at the worst possible moment. The target will always step on a dry branch or stray cat, causing noise, or the target may suddenly glow in the dark just enough for others to see him. The target has a -10 enhancement penalty to all Hide and Move Silently checks.


• All attacks against the target have their critical threat range increase by 1. This does not affect damage, only the chance of an opponent scoring a critical hit.


• The target develops an unusual or embarrassing physical trait. This includes things like donkey's ears, a pig's tail or snout, bright polka-dotted skin, total loss of body hair, or just about any other unpleasant cosmetic effect the caster desires. The target cannot be transformed entirely into another creature, nor are any of the target's abilities affected, although he may have a difficult time with some interaction skill checks.


• The target is afflicted with a form of lycanthropy of the caster's choice. The caster cannot bestow a form of lycanthropy with an alignment opposite to her own. Thus, good casters cannot create wererats or werewolves and evil casters cannot create werebears.


• One of the target's descendants suffers the effects of the curse. A caster may, for example, choose to place a curse that affect's the subjects first-born child. The curse takes effect and may be removed normally.

You may also invent your own curse, but it should be no more powerful than those described above. Bestow curse should not duplicate the effects of a preexisting spell, so it should not cause targets to become blind or deaf (which would duplicate blindness/deafness), cause disease (which would duplicate contagion), or transform creatures into frogs or other creatures (which would duplicate baleful polymorph).

The curse bestowed by this spell cannot be dispelled, but it can be removed with a break enchantment, limited wish, miracle, remove curse, or wish spell.

Bestow curse counters remove curse.

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