Conjuration (Creation) [Death] · Legacy Fan Spell

Arrow of Slaying

Death magic gathered into one enchanted arrow: one hit can become a fatal verdict.

Arrow of Slaying creates a single magical arrow that can kill the creature it strikes. The original community-created legacy spell requires a ranged attack and a Fortitude saving throw: a failed save means death, while a successful save still inflicts 10d6 negative-energy damage. Its printed source contains a contradictory attack phrase that must be clarified by the Games Master.

Arrow of Slaying at a Glance

5.5e / 2024	No official spell with these rules in SRD 5.2.1
5e / 2014	No core spell of this exact name
Pathfinder 1e	Not a standard Pathfinder spell
Legacy d20 fan spell	Sorcerer/Wizard 9; close range; Fortitude partial; a silvered arrow component

Spell Rules by Edition

5.5e / 20245e / 2014Pathfinder 1eLegacy d20 Fan Spell

Arrow of Slaying — 2024

Status: not a published 2024 SRD spell. An instant-death effect after a single attack and failed save is not automatically balanced for fifth-edition action economy, hit points or monster design. Any conversion must be explicitly agreed with the Games Master.

Arrow of Slaying — 2014

Status: the 2014 core spells do not include this fan-created entry. The ordinary 2014 arrow of slaying magic-item concept is mechanically different and must not be confused with this ninth-level spell.

Arrow of Slaying — Pathfinder 1e

Status: this is not a default Pathfinder spell. Its attack roll, save-or-die effect and component costs were written for a different legacy rules environment; any adaptation requires GM approval.

Arrow of Slaying — Original Community-Created d20 Rules

School	Conjuration (Creation) [Death]
Level	Sorcerer/Wizard 9
Components	V, S, M; silvered arrow
Casting Time	1 standard action
Range	Close (25 feet + 5 feet per two caster levels)
Target	One creature
Duration	Instantaneous
Saving Throw	Fortitude partial
Spell Resistance	No

A magical arrow launches from the outstretched palm toward the target. The printed wording calls for a “ranged melee attack”, which combines two incompatible attack categories. The Games Master should settle the intended attack procedure before play; for a ranged projectile, a normal ranged attack is the most natural interpretation, but that is an adjudication rather than an additional printed rule.

If the attack hits, the target attempts a Fortitude save. Failure: death under the source’s death-effect rules. Success: 10d6 negative-energy damage. Spell resistance does not apply, and the material component is a silvered arrow.

What Changed Between Editions?

The old community discussion supplies the only mechanics shown here. They are not verified as official D&D 3.5e, 2014 or 2024 material, nor as part of Pathfinder. Rather than importing lethal effects into a newer edition, keep the original entry clearly identified as a fan spell.

Using Arrow of Slaying in Play

A coven’s enemy may possess a rumoured weapon able to kill a dragon in one strike. Yet its caster must still reach the target, attack successfully and force a difficult saving throw. The spell suits legendary confrontations and mysteries about a cursed arrow or silvered relic, provided the group has agreed to include sudden-death magic.

One adventure might centre on a king whose guards find a silvered arrow after a failed assassination. The recovered component could identify the caster’s preparations, while the actual magical shaft may have vanished when its instantaneous spell was discharged. Whether such clues remain should follow the Games Master’s established magical investigation rules, not an invented automatic tracking power.

Worked Combat Example

A wizard prepares to cast Arrow of Slaying on an approaching champion. The caster must use the printed casting time and provide the silvered arrow. Resolve the attack using the attack procedure agreed for this source. A miss never reaches the Fortitude-save step. If the attack hits, the champion’s Fortitude save determines whether the legacy death effect succeeds or the champion instead takes 10d6 negative-energy damage. This damage can itself be fatal if it reduces the target to a dying or dead state under the original edition’s rules.

Do not treat “Spell Resistance: No” as an automatic hit, automatic failure of a saving throw, or immunity to every protective effect. Each listed defence is a separate part of the original procedure.

Counterplay and GM Rulings

Clarify the attack: the printed phrase “ranged melee attack” is internally contradictory, so settle it before the spell is cast.
Fortitude partial: the lethal result requires a hit and a failed save. Success still causes 10d6 negative-energy damage.
Source boundaries: this is historical community homebrew, not an official ninth-level spell in any edition.
Magic and death protection: adjudicate death-effect immunity and protective spells under the chosen legacy rules rather than inventing new immunity language.
Component: the source specifies a silvered arrow. The spell creates a magical arrow, but the caster still provides that component.

Related Death and Archer Magic

Finger of Death is a published spell with edition-dependent lethality. Arrowspark produces magical ammunition with a very different effect; Arrowlink delivers touch magic through arrows.

Mythical Context

In the story of Niobe, Apollo and Artemis strike her children with arrows after Niobe boasts that she surpasses their mother Leto. The myth gives a fated arrow the weight of supernatural judgement—particularly when the victim has been named. See the Met’s account of the punishment of Niobe.

The Original Illustrated Tradition

The Zodiac Sun by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, retained from the original Arrow of Slaying page — Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, *The Zodiac: The Sun* (public-domain image retained from the original page).

Historical Context

A Classical Greek bronze arrowhead from Cyprus survives from about 480–330 BCE, showing the very real weapon behind the imagined death-dealing shaft. The evidence tells us about archery and metalworking, not a missile that kills through a failed saving throw. See the Metropolitan Museum’s Cypriot bronze arrowhead.

Rules Sources and Attribution

The earlier entry credited Shadowfoot on the Wizards Community forums and linked to an archived discussion. This attribution is preserved; the community spell is not treated as an official SRD rule. Original source reference: archived community discussion (availability unconfirmed).

Preserved original wording and older credits

You create a magic arrow that kills the creature struck.

Originally Posted by Shadowfoot of the Wizards Community forums.
On this Thread

(Conjuration) (Creation) [Death]

Level: Sorcerer, Wizard 9,
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25ft + 5ft/2 levels)
Target: One creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Yes (Fortitude partial)
Spell Resistance: No

You conjure a single magical arrow that flies from your outstretched palm toward the targeted creature. If you strike the targeted creature with a ranged melee attack, the creature must make a Fortitude save or die instantly. If it succeeds at the save, if suffers 10d6 points of negative energy damage.

Material Component: a silvered arrow.

The credited author’s original work remains subject to its own reuse conditions. Historical parallels and two illustrations are separate from the spell’s rule provenance.