#lmk if any language is particularly unclear

[monstersdownthepath]

Devouring Debt

Necromancy [curse] [evil] Antipaladin 4, Bard 6, Occultist 6, Oracle 7, Shaman 7, Witch 6

Casting time: 4 hours Components: V, S, M (a lengthy letter of debt collection handwritten in expensive inks worth at least 2,000gp), F (an elaborate stamp of an unholy symbol of a fiendish divinity worth at least 2,000gp)

Effect: One cursed letter Duration: 1 week/Permanent; see text Saving throw: Will negates; Spell Resistance: No

Initially created by fiendish worshipers of Braismois, the Silent Quill, this terrifying and unnecessarily cruel curse has since spread outwards into other cults of various fiends of greed, terrible bargains, baseless spite, unending hunger, and relentless punishment. Even casters with no faith in a particular fiend can use this spell simply to damn another unsuspecting victim’s possessions to a lower plane, and some especially vile users of this spell have been known to carry multiple stamps to vary up their ‘donations’ to the demons, devils, and daemons.

At the end of this spell’s casting time, with one final stamp the caster creates a letter that imparts a terrible curse on whoever is foolish enough to touch it. Any creature that touches the letter, except the caster, must succeed a Will save or the become cursed, and then the letter becomes mundane. If that creature succeeds their saving throw, the curse remains dormant within the letter until a creature touches it and fails their saving throw. The caster cannot touch a creature with the letter to curse them, but they may hand the letter to that creature or compel them to take it with skills (such as Diplomacy) or with spells (such as Beguiling Gift), or leave it where a creature may pick it up or touch it unwittingly. If 7 days pass without the curse successfully triggering, the letter dissolves into ash.

Only creatures with an Int of 3 or higher with some measure of physical property and a grasp of material wealth can be affected by Devouring Debt. A creature that becomes cursed immediately becomes aware of the spell’s effects, the money they supposedly owe (always a titanic, demoralizing amount), the fiend to which the money is owed, and the consequences of failing to pay, regardless of their relative intelligence, understanding of property, or language barriers. A collection period begins immediately.

The frequency of future collection periods depends on the HD of the affected creature; a creature with 1-5 HD is affected 1/week, a creature with 6-10 HD is affected 1/three days, and a creature with 11+ HD is affected 1/day.

Each time a collection period begins, roll 1d100+100 for each collection period that has occurred. This amount, which the victim becomes aware of, is the amount in gold pieces that they must forfeit to the spell’s effects to consider their debt payed for the moment. The victim ‘pays’ by offering coins, gems, art objects, or other material goods they own which have a total combined value equal to or exceeding the rolled number. Distance between the victim and the offered items does not matter, so long as they own the items; thus they may sell off distant properties or stored belongings/money if they wish. These offered objects disappear, reappearing in the vaults or treasure pile of the fiend to which the debt has been assigned (Braismois and Mammon have specific vaults set aside for belongings received via this spell). The victim must have some measure of ownership of the items in question or they cannot be offered as payment, though they may steal items, sell them, and use the resulting money to pay off the curse. The curse imparts two additional, though Evil, ways to satisfy the debt, both of which the victim becomes aware of: if the victim slays the owner of an item, they can claim ownership and use the item to satisfy the curse. In addition, the corpses of other creatures that the victim has slain themselves may be used as objects of payment: for the purposes of this curse, the corpse of a Small or larger creature with 2 or less Int is worth 50gp times its HD, while the corpse of a creature with 3 or greater Int is worth 200gp times its HD.

The curse will not take Artifacts, intelligent items, or cursed items as payment; at the DMs discretion, it may also reject other specific items based on the preferences of the fiend to which the spell is aligned.  Paying an amount exceeding the amount assigned by the current collection period has no effect on future collection periods; i.e. even if the victim pays 1,000 gold (or offers an item worth that amount) to cover a 300 gold debt, the next collection period will still occur and they will still have to pay whatever debt is assigned.

If the victim does not or cannot pay the full debt by the time the next collection period begins, their belongings are stolen from them at random directly by the spell’s effects until the current debt is paid. If they have no belongings valuable enough to satisfy the curse, they instead take 1 point of Constitution damage per collection periods that have already occurred as their flesh, blood, bone, and organs are shorn from them as if by starving, toothed maws. This damage does not heal naturally while the curse is in effect. A creature slain by the Con damage of the curse leaves behind only a puddle of blood and viscera. The curse resists being dispelled while money is still owed to it; the check to dispel it is raised by +10 until the current collection period is satisfied. Ending the curse does not restore any lost property or flesh, though Limited Wish, Wish or Miracle, or physically going to the vaults of the assigned fiend allows a creature to retrieve lost items. Obviously, in the latter case, this carries dangers of its own.

#Original Concepts #lmk if any language is particularly unclear #this is a complicated spell (based on an SCP) and thus i may have missed a loophole or not clarified something that needs to be