Necromancy • Pathfinder Curse

Black Spot

N. C. Wyeth, illustration for Treasure Island (1911). Select the artwork to enlarge.

Black Spot brands a creature with a notorious pirate curse. The mark cannot be hidden, makes the victim easier to attack, weakens resistance to death effects and slowly drains Constitution until the curse is removed.

Black Spot at a Glance

5.5e / 2024	No spell by this name in SRD 5.2.1
5e / 2014	No core spell by this name
Pathfinder 1e	Cleric 4, Witch 4, Sorcerer/Wizard 5
D&D 3.5e	No core spell by this name

Pathfinder quick facts: Necromancy; Cleric 4, Witch 4, Sorcerer/Wizard 5; V, S; 1 standard action; touch; permanent. Will negates and spell resistance applies. The curse creates a 10-foot-radius aura and a daily Fortitude save.

Spell Rules by Edition

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

Black Spot — 5.5e / 2024

Status: no official SRD 5.2.1 spell by this name. Use modern curse magic rather than importing the Pathfinder Constitution-damage rules.

Black Spot — 5e / 2014

Status: no core 2014 spell by this name.

Black Spot — Pathfinder 1e

School	Necromancy
Level	Cleric 4, Witch 4, Sorcerer/Wizard 5
Casting Time	1 standard action
Components	V, S
Range	Touch
Target	Creature touched
Duration	Permanent
Saving Throw	Will negates
Spell Resistance	Yes

An intangible black spot appears above the target and remains until the target dies or the curse is lifted. It cannot be covered or hidden, even by other illusions. The target radiates a cursed aura with a 10-foot radius. Creatures inside that aura gain +2 on weapon attack and damage rolls against the marked target, and the target takes –4 on saving throws against death effects.

Each day, the target makes a Fortitude save. On a failure, it takes 1 point of Constitution damage that cannot be healed until the curse is removed. A creature reduced to 0 Constitution dies.

Black Spot — D&D 3.5e

Status: no core 3.5e spell by this name. Do not treat the Pathfinder version as 3.5e automatically.

What Changed?

Pathfinder 1e: Black Spot is a full Witch curse with permanent duration, Constitution damage and specific curse-removal effects.
5.5e / 2024 and 5e / 2014: there is no direct official equivalent, so the Pathfinder mechanics are not imported.
D&D 3.5e: no core spell by this name is presented; agree on any adaptation with the Games Master before using these Pathfinder rules.

Removing the Black Spot

The spell cannot be dispelled normally. Under the Pathfinder source, Break Enchantment, Limited Wish, Miracle, Remove Curse or Wish can remove it. Pirates slain by the curse may return as ghosts in story terms, but that is not an automatic spell effect.

Edition Boundary

Black Spot is Pathfinder material, not a fifth-edition Witch spell. Do not convert the Constitution damage or death-effect penalty into 5.5e automatically.

Related Magic

Remove Curse · Bestow Curse

Using Black Spot in Play

Black Spot is strongest as a long-term curse rather than an immediate combat spell. It marks a victim publicly, makes allies more effective against that target and creates pressure to seek a cure before the daily Constitution damage becomes fatal.

Counterplay and Rulings

The curse cannot normally be removed by Dispel Magic after it has taken hold. Use the listed Pathfinder curse-removal effects instead. Spell Resistance applies to the initial casting, and a successful Will save prevents the curse entirely.

Worked Example: Inside the Cursed Aura

A swordsman stands 5 feet from the marked victim. His usual weapon attack bonus of +6 becomes +8, and his usual 1d8 + 3 weapon damage becomes 1d8 + 5. An archer 15 feet away gains neither bonus because the archer is outside the 10-foot radius.

If the marked victim starts with Constitution 12 and fails three daily Fortitude saves, the curse deals 3 points of Constitution damage, leaving Constitution 9. Those points cannot be healed while the Black Spot remains. Removing the curse allows the damage to be healed normally; removal does not itself promise immediate restoration.

Mythical Context

The Greek Moirai assign the course of mortal life, with Clotho spinning its thread, Lachesis measuring it and Atropos cutting it short. Black Spot draws on a similar fear of an announced doom that follows its victim. This is a thematic comparison: the ancient accounts do not describe this Pathfinder spell or its weapon bonuses.

Ancient accounts of the Moirai and the thread of life

Historical Context

In Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, the black spot is a physical message used to summon or depose a pirate. The illustration retained here comes from N. C. Wyeth’s 1911 illustrated edition. These are sources for the history of pirate fiction and its imagery, rather than evidence of a real curse that drains Constitution.

Read Treasure Island, including “The Black Spot” · Artwork record: N. C. Wyeth, 1911

Rules Sources and Licensing

Pathfinder source: Pathfinder Player Companion: Pirates of the Inner Sea, © 2012 Paizo Publishing, LLC; author Amber E. Scott. The Pathfinder mechanics are Open Game Content under the Open Game License v1.0a. The other edition panels supply status notes rather than conversions. Artwork and the new play examples and context commentary are not designated as new Open Game Content.

Licensed spell text and its source copyright notice · Pathfinder reference-document licence · Publisher and author record

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15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Tome of Horrors. © 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Authors: Scott Greene, with Clark Peterson, Erica Balsley, Kevin Baase, Casey Christofferson, Lance Hawvermale, Travis Hawvermale, Patrick Lawinger, and Bill Webb; Based on original content from TSR.

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