Magical Malaise
Affliction Week continues, and we are celebrating the release of our latest book, Scourge: The Deluxe Guide to Disease and Poison, which reinvents the wheel on poisons and diseases. This awesome new book includes everything you need to start really enjoying being deathly ill or lethally poisoned! But for some strange reason, some people would rather be the ones doling out all of the death and debilitation, rather than being on the receiving end, and if so, today’s spells are for you. These arcane affliction enablers not only play nicely with our excellent new book, but also work well with the more traditional, if somewhat less exciting, poisons and diseases you are already familiar with.
ACCELERATE POISON
School transmutation; Level sorcerer/wizard 3, witch 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M/DF (a fang from a rattlesnake)
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target one poisoned creature
Duration instantaneous; see text
Saving Throw Fortitude negates; Spell Resistance yes
You cause the progress of the poison in the target’s body to accelerate greatly, causing him to suffer at in incredible pace. If the poison is an enhanced poison, it surges through the target’s bloodstream, increasing its toxicity by 5.
If the target is suffering from a non-enhanced poison, the poison’s frequency occurs twice as often. This does not increase the total number of saving throws made to resist the poison, it just makes them occur at a quicker pace (so a duration of 1/round for 6 rounds would become 2/round for 3 rounds, instead).
Finally, regardless of whether the poison is enhanced or not, all saving throw DCs made to resist it are increased by +2. If the poison persists for more than 10 minutes, this increase only applies for the first 10 minutes after the spell is case. If the target is suffering from more than one poison, only a single poison is affected. If you are aware of what poisons he is suffering from, you can choose which poison to affect. Otherwise one is affected at random.
ALTER DISEASE
School transmutation; Level cleric/oracle 3, sorcerer/wizard 3, witch 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M/DF (a pinch of rat droppings)
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target one diseased creature
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Fortitude negates; Spell Resistance yes
You channel eldritch energies into the microorganisms and tiny life forms which cause disease, transforming them into something wholly different. This causes the target’s disease to spontaneously become another disease of your choosing. If you choose an enhanced disease, its CR must be no greater than your caster level. Additionally, if you choose an enhanced disease, the target is treated as being in the disease’s initial stage, even if he was in a different stage of the previous disease.
If the target creature normally spreads a disease with its natural attacks, he spreads the new disease instead of his normal one. The infected character also spreads the disease through the normal fashion.
PROGRESS PLAGUE
School transmutation; Level sorcerer/wizard 5, witch 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a diseased eyeball)
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target one diseased creature
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Fortitude negates; Spell Resistance yes
You temporarily accelerate a single disease affecting a creature, causing it to progress to the next stage of the infection in mere moments. If the target is currently suffering from an enhanced disease, he immediately advanced to the next stage of that disease. If there is no next stage, he must make two additional Fortitude saves to resist the disease’s effects immediately. Success on these saves does not contribute to reducing the disease’s stage.
If the target is currently suffering from a non-enhanced disease, he must immediately make two additional Fortitude saves to resist the disease’s effects. Success on these saves does not contribute to being cured of the disease.
If the target is suffering from more than one disease, only a single disease is affected. If you are aware of what diseases he is suffering from, you can choose which disease to affect. Otherwise one is affected at random.