Curse of Apostasy — Epic Spell

Curse of Apostasy is a third-party epic compulsion from the Dicefreaks Grimoire of Cosmic Entities Volume One. It forces a victim to abandon deeply held sacred, ethical or oath-bound beliefs and can spread that compulsion through speech to a small number of additional creatures.

At a Glance

SchoolEnchantment (Compulsion) [Evil, Mind-Affecting]
Spellcraft DC66
ComponentsV, S, XP
Casting Time1 standard action
Range75 feet; spread by speech as described below
TargetsUp to six living creatures total
Duration20 hours
Saving ThrowWill negates
Spell ResistanceYes
XP Cost3,300 XP

Development

Development cost594,000 gp
Development time12 days
Development XP23,760 XP
SeedCompel (DC 19)
  • One-action casting time: +20 DC.
  • Allow speech to spread the compulsion to as many as five additional targets: ad hoc +60 DC.
  • Burn 3,300 XP: –33 DC.

Effect

A creature that fails the initial Will save is compelled to renounce one or more of its most important beliefs and to view the caster’s guidance favourably. The compulsion does not force obviously suicidal self-harm.

For the duration, the affected creature is also compelled to persuade others to abandon their own core beliefs. A creature that listens to an affected speaker for a full round can be exposed to the same effect and receives the original spell’s Will save.

No more than six creatures total can be affected by one casting. When the 20-hour duration ends, the victims stop spreading the compulsion and remember what they did while controlled.

Within the setting, “belief” can mean devotion to a god, temple oath, mystery cult, philosophical code, sworn ethical order or similarly defining commitment; it does not require importing any particular real-world religious institution.

Edition Status

This is third-party 3.x epic material. Modern D&D does not have an equivalent contagious belief-compulsion spell or epic development framework.

Source and Provenance

Source: Grimoire of Cosmic Entities Volume One
Authors: Eli Atkinson, William Church and Serge W. Desir, Jr.
Publisher/community: Dicefreaks d20 Community

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