Spellbook
Hemorrhage
By Ramon Arjona

Several decades ago, a young cleric named Siashton Mith decided to devote his life to the study of divine healing. So dedicated was he to his chosen field that his grasp of healing magic soon surpassed that of his teachers, and he established his own hospital.

In the course of his work, Siashton developed a number of unique healing spells. But as his obsession with finding new sources of healing magic grew, he began to dabble in magic best left unexplored by those dedicated to good. Slowly, his alignment began to change, and he noticed that every healing spell he developed seemed to have a darker version that could be accessed with only a tiny alteration. From such experimentation, the spell called hemorrhage was developed from his previous healing spell styptic. Where styptic stops bleeding from wounds, its darker cousin hemorrhage causes wounds that bleed profusely and refuse to heal.

Hemorrhage
Necromancy
Level: Clr 1
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: 1 round/2 levels (maximum 5 rounds)
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

Your touch inflicts a deep, painful wound that bleeds profusely and refuses to heal. The target takes 1d3 points of damage per round from bleeding until the spell's duration expires. Nonmagical healing neither stops the blood loss nor restores hit points lost from such bleeding. A cure spell restores hit points normally but does not stop the bleeding. A styptic or heal spell both stops the bleeding and restores lost hit points as it normally would.

Hemorrhage is countered by styptic.

About the Author

Ramon Arjona is a software developer with Wizards of the Coast. His poetry has appeared in the Absinthe Literary Review and the Hawaii Review. His short stories have appeared in Strange Horizons.