Transmutation • Seed-Rotting Witchcraft
Famine
Famine turns a season’s sowing into a field of rotting seed. A Witch or Druid using this legacy rite can ruin planted but unsprouted crops within one chosen expanse, leaving already growing plants untouched. The spell destroys the promise of a harvest rather than dealing direct damage in combat.
Famine at a Glance
| 5.5e / 2024 | No direct SRD 5.2.1 Famine spell or conversion supplied |
|---|---|
| 5e / 2014 | No direct core spell by this name; no conversion supplied |
| Pathfinder 1e | The 2003 spell is not automatically added to the Pathfinder Witch or Druid list |
| D&D 3.5e / Legacy d20 | Third-party 2003 source; Witch 4, Druid 4 |
Legacy quick facts: Transmutation; 1 action; V, S, M; Close (see text); instantaneous; no saving throw; no spell resistance. Select one of three field shapes and, if desired, exclude protected pockets. Only seeds and crops not yet sprouted are spoiled.
Spell Rules by Edition
Famine — 5.5e / 2024
Status: no direct conversion is published here.
Famine — 5e / 2014
Status: no direct conversion is published here.
Famine — Pathfinder 1e
Status: not a Pathfinder Witch spell by default.
Famine — D&D 3.5e / Legacy d20 (2003)
Historical source: Liber Mysterium: The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks (2003), p. 141. These are the third-party d20 mechanics as printed, not an official D&D 3.5e revision.
| School | Transmutation |
|---|---|
| Level | Witch 4, Druid 4 |
| Components | V, S, M |
| Casting Time | 1 action |
| Range | Close; see area |
| Area | 100-ft-radius circle, 150-ft-radius semicircle, or 200-ft-radius quarter-circle |
| Duration | Instantaneous |
| Saving Throw | None |
| Spell Resistance | No |
The spell rots planted seeds and unsprouted crops in the selected area, making them inedible and preventing their growth. Already sprouted or mature plants are not affected. The caster can designate unaffected pockets within the chosen shape. The three available shapes are a 100-foot-radius circle, a 150-foot-radius semicircle or a 200-foot-radius quarter-circle; this is a choice of area, not three simultaneous effects.
Source boundary: the 2003 text states “Close (see text)” but supplies no precise point-of-origin or field-placement procedure. Do not invent a spread distance, saving throw, additional target category or spell resistance beyond its printed rules; the Games Master should adjudicate where the chosen shape is placed.
Material components: a maggot, a fly and a fresh fruit or vegetable.
What Changed?
No modern conversion is assumed. The broad crop-destruction area and instantaneous spoilage remain confined to the legacy d20 spell; later editions should use their own plant, blight and environmental magic.
Using Famine in Play
This is campaign-scale magic: sabotage before a siege, a coven war against an estate, or a clue when seed stores fail across one carefully shaped field.
Adventure Uses
- Sabotage: destroy a newly planted field before a siege or harvest.
- Mystery: use the precise shape of the dead seed-bed as evidence that the blight was magical rather than natural.
- Counter-adventure: the party may need to protect seed stores, identify the caster or find replacement grain before planting season closes.
Related Magic
Worked Example: The Empty Seedbed
A level 8 Witch is hired to break a rival lord’s spring planting. The spell’s area does not increase with caster level: the caster selects either a 100-foot-radius circle, a 150-foot-radius semicircle or a 200-foot-radius quarter-circle. The Witch chooses one shape, not all three, and marks a garden within it as an unaffected pocket.
Inside the chosen area, seed already buried but not yet sprouted rots and cannot produce a harvest. An established wheat stand or mature orchard survives because the original spell does not affect crops that have already sprouted. The legacy spell has no saving throw and no spell resistance, and its effect is instantaneous. The original text does not define how large an exempt pocket can be or how the area is oriented; the Games Master should adjudicate those details rather than invent an automatic rule.
Counterplay and Rulings
Visible clue. Buried grain goes foul before germination, while established plants remain healthy. Where a small patch survives untouched, the caster may have designated it as exempt.
Prevention. Guard newly sown ground, watch the caster and protect seed reserves before planting. Interrupting the casting may prevent the effect if the ruleset has a suitable counterspell mechanic.
After the spell. The rotting of unsprouted crops is instantaneous. Dispel Magic cannot undo it after resolution; replanting, recovering seed or appropriate separately adjudicated restoration magic is required. Famine does not destroy harvested grain in a storehouse by the printed effect.
Mythical Context
In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, the goddess refuses to allow planted grain to rise from the earth while she grieves for Persephone. Empty furrows and wasted sowing bring mortals to the edge of famine. This is a close mythic parallel to Famine’s effect on unsprouted seed, though the poem describes divine action rather than a mortal spell with fixed dimensions.
Homeric Hymn to Demeter, lines 305–311 (Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies) · Demeter in the divine archive
Historical Context
The retained engraving records people waiting for food relief at Bangalore during the Great Famine of 1876–1878. It was published in the Illustrated London News on 20 October 1877. The image is a historical account of real human suffering, not an illustration of supernatural crop failure. Drought, harvest failure, food distribution and human decisions have all played roles in famines; none should be misrepresented as evidence of sorcery.
Historical engraving, publication date and public-domain record
Rules Sources and Licensing
Third-party d20 source: Liber Mysterium: The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks, 2003, p. 141, “Famine”; Timothy S. Brannan and the Netbook of Witches Team. The source book says it uses version 3.0 of the core rules with identified differences where applicable. The spell table and effects here preserve that legacy material. Neither a Pathfinder Witch conversion nor a newer-edition Famine spell has been invented.
Consult the 2003 source-book transcription: Famine, p. 141. Its exact school, levels, components, one-action casting time, Close range, three alternative areas, instantaneous duration, lack of saves/resistance and maggot/fly/produce components are retained.
The original book distributes its designated mechanics under the Open Game License v1.0a with the inherited notices below. The page’s historical public-domain engraving is credited independently; contextual essays, editorial examples and images are not designated here as new Open Game Content.
Open Game License v1.0a & Section 15 Copyright Notices
OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a
The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”).
All Rights Reserved.
1. Definitions:
(a) “Contributors” means the copyright and/or trademark owners who
have contributed Open Game Content;
(b) “Derivative Material” means
copyrighted material including derivative works and translations
(including into other computer languages), potation, modification,
correction, addition, extension, upgrade, improvement, compilation,
abridgment or other form in which an existing work may be recast,
transformed or adapted;
(c) “Distribute” means to reproduce, license,
rent, lease, sell, broadcast, publicly display, transmit or otherwise
distribute;
(d) “Open Game Content” means the game mechanic and includes
the methods, procedures, processes and routines to the extent such
content does not embody the Product Identity and is an enhancement over
the prior art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game
Content by the Contributor, and means any work covered by this License,
including translations and derivative works under copyright law, but
specifically excludes Product Identity;
(e) “Product Identity” means
product and product line names, logos and identifying marks including
trade dress; artifacts; creatures; characters; stories, storylines,
plots, thematic elements, dialogue, incidents, language, artwork,
symbols, designs, depictions, likenesses, formats, poses, concepts,
themes and graphic, photographic and other visual or audio
representations; names and descriptions of characters, spells,
enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and special
abilities; places, locations, environments, creatures, equipment,
magical or supernatural abilities or effects, logos, symbols, or
graphic designs; and any other trademark or registered trademark
clearly identified as Product Identity by the owner of the Product
Identity, and which specifically excludes the Open Game Content;
(f) “Trademark” means the logos, names, mark, sign, motto, designs that
are used by a Contributor to identify itself or its products or the
associated products contributed to the Open Game License by the Contributor;
(g) “Use”,
“Used” or “Using” means to use, Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify,
translate and otherwise create Derivative Material of Open Game Content;
(h) “You” or “Your” means the licensee in terms of this agreement.
2. The License:
This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains a notice
indicating that the Open Game Content may only be Used under and in
terms of this License. You must affix such a notice to any Open Game
Content that You Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted from this
License except as described by the License itself. No other terms or
conditions may be applied to any Open Game Content distributed using
this License.
3. Offer and Acceptance:
By Using the Open Game Content You indicate Your acceptance of the
terms of this License.
4. Grant and Consideration:
In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the Contributors
grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license
with the exact terms of this License to Use the Open Game Content.
5. Representation of Authority to Contribute:
If You are contributing original material as Open Game Content, You
represent that Your Contributions are Your original creation and/or
You have sufficient rights to grant the rights conveyed by this License.
6. Notice of License Copyright:
You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion of this License to include
the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game Content You are
copying, modifying or distributing, and You must add the title, the
copyright date, and the copyright holder’s name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE
of any original Open Game Content You Distribute.
7. Use of Product Identity:
You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including as an indication
as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another,
independent Agreement with the owner of each element of that Product
Identity.
You agree not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability
with any Trademark or Registered Trademark in conjunction with a work
containing Open Game Content except as expressly licensed in another,
independent Agreement with the owner of such Trademark or Registered
Trademark.
The use of any Product Identity in Open Game Content does
not constitute a challenge to the ownership of that Product Identity.
The owner of any Product Identity used in Open Game Content shall retain
all rights, title and interest in and to that Product Identity.
8. Identification:
If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly indicate which
portions of the work that you are distributing are Open Game Content.
9. Updating the License:
Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated versions of this
License. You may use any authorized version of this License to copy,
modify and distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed
under any version of this License.
10. Copy of this License:
You MUST include a copy of this License with every copy of the Open
Game Content You Distribute.
11. Use of Contributor Credits:
You may not market or advertise the Open Game Content using the name
of any Contributor unless You have written permission from the
Contributor to do so.
12. Inability to Comply:
If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this
License with respect to some or all of the Open Game Content due to
statute, judicial order, or governmental regulation then You may not
Use any Open Game Material so affected.
13. Termination:
This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with
all terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming
aware of the breach. All sublicenses shall survive the termination of
this License.
14. Reformation:
If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such
provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it
enforceable.
15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
System Reference Document Copyright 2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Bruce R. Cordell, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
“Witch-finder” Copyright 2003, Dominique Crouzet.
“Witch Knight”, Copyright 2001, Ravenscyre Grey Daegmorgan.
Ritual Magic rules from Relics & Rituals Copyright 2001, Clark Peterson, Sword and Sorcery Studios.
“Divine Dominion” and “Greater Divine Dominion”, Copyright 2001 Bradely H. Bemis.
“Extra Familiar”, Copyright 2001 Paul King.
“Leprechaun” from the Tome of Horrors, Copyright 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
“Poppet” and “Create Poppet” from Liber Bestarius, Copyright 2002, Eden Studios. Additional non-OGC permission granted by Eden Studios May 27th, 2003.
Liber Mysterium: The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks is Copyright© 2003, Timothy S. Brannan and the Netbook of Witches Team.
All content is considered open for the Open Gaming License, unless otherwise noted. But it is not public domain. Permission is granted to make and redistribute copies of this document as long as this copyright page remains intact.
Keep this reference growing
If this page helped with your reading or game, you can support its upkeep or explore the curated books.
Explore the Bookshop — epics, classics and stories behind imagined worlds.