Necromancy • Death Magic

Finger of Death

Death and the Woodcutter, attributed here to Jean-François Millet, 1859 (original artwork preserved).

Finger of Death strikes a creature with a lethal surge of necromantic power. Fifth edition deals fixed dice damage and can raise a slain Humanoid as a zombie, Pathfinder deals damage determined by caster level, and D&D 3.5e can kill outright after a failed Fortitude save. Check the edition before resolving the spell.

Finger of Death at a Glance

5.5e / 2024	7th-level Necromancy — Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard; Constitution save; 7d8 + 30 necrotic damage
5e / 2014	7th-level Necromancy — Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard; Constitution save; 7d8 + 30 necrotic damage
Pathfinder 1e	Druid 8, Sorcerer/Wizard 7; damage 10 points per caster level on failed Fortitude save
D&D 3.5e	Druid 8, Sorcerer/Wizard 7; Fortitude save or death
Witch archive	Witch 8 is a historical list placement, not automatic modern class access

Spell Rules by Edition

5.5e / 20245e / 2014Pathfinder 1eD&D 3.5e

Finger of Death — 5.5e / 2024

Level	7th-level Necromancy
Classes	Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time	Action
Range	60 feet
Components	V, S
Duration	Instantaneous
Saving Throw	Constitution

Choose a creature within range that you can see. It takes 7d8 + 30 necrotic damage if it fails its Constitution save, or half on success. A Humanoid killed by the spell rises at the start of your next turn as a Zombie that follows your verbal orders.

The current 2024 wording does not use the older 3.5e save-or-die mechanic or the legacy duration terminology for zombie service.

Source: 2024 Finger of Death and SRD 5.2.1.

Finger of Death — 5e / 2014

Level	7th-level Necromancy
Classes	Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time	1 action
Range	60 feet
Components	V, S
Duration	Instantaneous
Saving Throw	Constitution

The target makes a Constitution saving throw. Failed save: 7d8 + 30 necrotic damage; success: half. A Humanoid killed by the spell rises at the start of the caster’s next turn as a Zombie that is permanently under the caster’s command and follows verbal orders. Use the exact 2014 wording for the lasting nature of this control.

Source: 2014 Finger of Death / SRD 5.1.

Finger of Death — Pathfinder 1e

School	Necromancy [death]
Level	Druid 8, Sorcerer/Wizard 7
Components	V, S
Casting Time	1 standard action
Range	Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target	One creature
Duration	Instantaneous
Saving Throw	Fortitude partial
Spell Resistance	Yes

The target takes 10 damage per caster level if its Fortitude save fails. On a successful save it takes 3d6 damage plus 1 point per caster level instead. It can die from damage on either result, but this version is not the 3.5e automatic death effect and does not raise zombies.

Source: Pathfinder Core Rulebook — Finger of Death.

Finger of Death — D&D 3.5e

School	Necromancy [Death]
Level	Druid 8, Sorcerer/Wizard 7; Witch 8 in the preserved archive
Components	V, S
Casting Time	1 standard action
Range	Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target	One living creature
Duration	Instantaneous
Saving Throw	Fortitude partial
Spell Resistance	Yes

A failed Fortitude save slays the living target outright. A successful Fortitude save instead deals 3d6 + 1 per caster level damage, to a maximum bonus of +25; this damage may also kill the subject. The caster does not gain a zombie servant through the original 3.5e spell.

Source: D&D 3.5 SRD — Finger of Death.

What Changed?

Fifth edition changed the spell into heavy necrotic damage with a zombie-creation rider. Pathfinder changed the legacy kill effect into damage proportional to caster level. D&D 3.5e still allows outright death on a failed Fortitude save, while successful saves reduce the result to damage.

Using Finger of Death in Play

Use it to finish a weakened foe in fifth edition or to threaten a tough living target in a legacy encounter. In 3.5e, protection against death effects, spell resistance and Fortitude saves are crucial. The chance of becoming a zombie creates a different GM question in fifth edition: the spell requires the actual killing blow, not merely damaging a Humanoid.

Counterplay and GM Rulings

For fifth edition, Constitution saving throws reduce damage but do not cancel it; use the rules for immunity or resistance to necrotic damage where applicable.
In Pathfinder or 3.5e, spell resistance can block the effect, and the Fortitude saving throw determines the outcome. The target restriction differs between editions.
Counterspell can interrupt casting where the edition permits it. The effect is instantaneous, so Dispel Magic after the fact cannot undo damage or the original death effect.
The fifth-edition zombie rider only applies when the spell kills a Humanoid and must not be imported into Pathfinder or 3.5e.

Related Magic and Creatures

Undead · Death Ward · Dispel Magic · Witch Spell Lists

Mythical Context

Greek myth personifies death as Thanatos, the brother of Sleep. In the story of Alcestis, Death appears as a solemn figure who claims a dying person’s life by cutting a lock of hair. That image suggests why a necromancer’s gesture can feel like a formal sentence rather than a mere attack roll. See William Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Mythology: Thanatos.

Historical Context

Ancient Egyptian protective amulets and funerary texts show how seriously people regarded the vulnerability of the soul after death. Heart scarabs were inscribed with words intended to help the dead at judgement; these were protective religious objects, not weapons that killed with a pointing finger. See The Metropolitan Museum’s New Kingdom heart scarab.

Rules Sources and Licensing

D&D 2024 spell rules: SRD 5.2.1 (CC BY 4.0). D&D 2014: SRD 5.1 (CC BY 4.0). Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e: the relevant OGL v1.0a source rules. The original artwork Death and the Woodcutter is retained; the Witch 8 placement is a legacy class option rather than a modern spell-list grant.