spell Bestow Greater Curse

Bestow Greater Curse

Book of Vile Darkness 3.5
By Monte Cook

Transmutation
Level: Bard 6, Cleric 7, Sorcerer/Wizard 8
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

The caster places a curse on the creature touched, choosing one of the following three effects:

One ability score is reduced to 1, or two ability scores take -6 penalties (to a minimum score of 1).
– 8 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, and skill checks.
Each turn, the subject has a 25% chance to act normally; otherwise, he takes no action.

A player may invent a new curse, but it should be no more powerful than those listed above, and the Dungeon Master (DM) has final say on the curse’s effect.

A greater curse cannot be dispelled, nor can it can be removed with a break enchantment, limited wish, or remove curse spell. A miracle or wish spell removes the greater curse, and any particular greater curse can be removed if the subject performs some deed that the caster designates. The deed must be something that the subject can accomplish within one year (assuming he undertakes it immediately). For example, the deed might be ‘Slay the dragon under Castle Bluecraft,’ or ‘Climb the tallest mountain in the world.’ The cursed victim can have help accomplishing the task, and in some cases another character can lift the curse.

Using Greater Curses in Play

A greater curse is a spell, not a power unique to one witch or monster. The caster chooses an effect within the limits of the spell and the DM approves alternatives. One victim might lose strength, another suffer ruinous bad luck, while a liar might be bound to a particular condition. The same spell can produce different consequences; it need not involve a family at all.

Example — Iseult of the Ford: the witch threatens John Lambton with a doom that extends through nine generations if he fails her demand after fighting the Lambton Worm. Treat that hereditary scope as a campaign-specific, DM-approved variation: the standard spell normally affects one creature touched, and an unwilling creature has a saving throw. Other castings of greater curse can have entirely different targets, effects and ways to end them.

Edition note. The mechanics above come from D&D 3.5e and are not a four-edition rules block. In Pathfinder 1e, Bestow Curse, Greater is a level-7 witch spell with its own removal rules. In D&D 2014 and 2024, the core Bestow Curse spell can be upcast, but an identical core spell named Bestow Greater Curse is not provided; any equivalent is a clearly labelled campaign adaptation.