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rferries
2017-08-18, 11:23 PM
My attempt at a Familicide spell. Please note this is just a fun exercise - in the same comic that we see Familicide we also see V cast Create Greater Undead as a standard action (when it has a 10-minute casting time) - to say nothing of the fact that Create Greater Undead doesn't have an option for animating sentient heads!

Haerta designed the spell to kill pretty much anything. Apart from the unique tarrasque and creatures from the Epic Level Handbook, the creature with the best Fortitude save is a great wyrm gold dragon (Fort +33), so I aimed for a DC of 54 to make sure even the wyrms that roll 20 don't save. n.b. It was important to add a clause to the spell that "Natural 20's aren't automatic successes on the Fortitude save", or else 5% of the subjects would get lucky and survive.

Haerta: 24th-level necromancer

Intelligence: 18, +6 from levelling, +5 inherent from wishes, +11 miscellaneous (from a mix of aging, lichdom, epic headband of intellect, etc.), 40 total

Spellcraft: 27 ranks, +3 skill focus, +10 epic skill focus, +30 bonus from non-epic magic item, 20 from taking 20, +15 from Int mod: 105 total

Save DC for epic spell: 20 + 15 (Haerta's int mod) +3 spell focus/greater spell focus/epic spell focus, total 38

So, we have 105 ranks' worth of Spellcraft to cast the spell, in addition to whatever mitigating factors we apply. We need a save DC of 54, so subtracting the base 38 we need to pump the DC up by 16.

As for the area - when making a magic item, a continuous/unlimited-use magic item is considered to have 100 charges. Therefore, I reasoned that a 100x increase in the area (at +4 Spellcraft DC per increase) could be justified as an infinite area.
Familicide
Necromancy [Death]
Spellcraft DC: 105
Components: V, S, F, XP
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: See text
Area: See text
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving throw: Fortitude half
Spell Resistance: No
To Develop: 945,000 gp; 19 days; 37,800 XP. Seeds: slay (DC 25). Factors: change from target to area (+10 DC), increase area to planet-wide (ad hoc +400 DC), increase save DC by 16 (+ 32 DC), natural 20 doesn't save (ad hoc +2 DC). Mitigating factor: Burn 16,200 XP (-162 DC), blood relatives of focus only (ad hoc -200), focus component (ad hoc -2 DC).

You touch the undead creature you have raised from your fallen foe. Crackling bolts of negative energy spread outwards from its form across the world, slaying all those it called family.

You touch the corpse of an enemy you have personally slain and reanimated. All creatures related to that creature by blood must make a Fortitude save or die instantly, then all creatures related to those creatures must make similar saves. For the purpose of this spell, "by blood" includes adoptive family. A natural roll on the d20 is not considered an automatic success for this save. Any creature that makes its save still takes 3d6+20 points of damage. Creatures with more than 80 HD are immune to this spell.

You enjoy no special protection from your own casting of this spell. Beware of hidden family ties to your foe...

Focus
The slain enemy, whom you have personally killed and reanimated via create greater undead.