Help design a spell to destroy vampire

[JohnGuin]

Hello all,

Forgive me if this has been posted before. I could not find it with a quick search...

I have a sorcerer character who is getting fed up with vampires. I was contemplating asking our DM for permission to develop a spell to utterly destroy the pesky critters as an epic spell, but that seems like overkill for such a limited use spell.

Here are my thoughts:
Necromatic (or does this make sense only as a cleric only spell?)
Level: 8 or 9 (as low as 7?)
Range: either touch or ray, 25 feet + 5 feet/2 levels
Spell Resistance: yes
Saving Throw: I guess Fortitude negates, partial for 5d6 damage.

Hit the baddie vampire with this spell. If the vampire baddie fails it's save, it is utterly destroyed and cannot be "revived." Failure to save results in the vampire taking 5d6 damage. The save DX is charisma based.

I'm also thinking the text should call out it affects any creature with the vampire template applied, vampire spawn and vampire lords (who should probably make the save).


Does this feel about right? Thoughts?

John

 

[ydirbut]

Name it Stake Railgun.

 

[William Ronald]

Possibly an improved version of the Sunbeam spell might work. I would see summoning sunlight to be an evocation type of spell. Another optiom might be to create a spell that conjures up a zone of sunlight or positive energy that is very harmful to the undead.

 

[LogicsFate]

What about a trap/buff spell that seriously hurt them as they bite people? Not quite as strait forward as all those point and click spell but fun none the less

 

[Quantumboost]

It's not necessary to come up with a new spell for this purpose at all; Sunburst destroys a vampire outright, and it's already an 8th level spell for sorcerors.

To quote the SRD:

"An undead creature caught within the globe takes 1d6 points of damage per caster level (maximum 25d6), or half damage if a Reflex save is successful. In addition, the burst results in the destruction of any undead creature specifically harmed by bright light if it fail its save."

Since a vampire is severely harmed by sunlight, a failed reflex save means bye-bye vampire. Even if it succeeds, that's still half of 15d6 damage dealt.

Edit: The major benefit and drawback relative to your spell; it's AoE, and it's AoE. It's good if the enemies including the vampire are all clumped together; it's bad if the vampire just happens to be right next to your party's melee members.

 

[Cheiromancer]

Am I right in thinking that the 3.0 version of disintegrate is what you are looking for?

Disintegrate
Transmutation
Level: Destruction 7, Sor/Wiz 6
Components: V, S, M/DF
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: Ray
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial
Spell Resistance: Yes
A thin, green ray springs from the character's pointing finger, causing the creature or object it strikes to glow and vanish, leaving behind only a trace of fine dust. The character must make a successful ranged touch attack to hit. Up to a 10-foot cube of nonliving matter is affected, so the spell disintegrates only part of any very large object or structure targeted. The ray affects even magical matter or energy of a magical nature but not a globe of invulnerability or an antimagic field. A creature or object that makes a successful Fortitude save is only partially affected. It takes 5d6 points of damage instead of disintegrating. Only the first creature or object struck can be affected (that is, the ray affects only one target per casting).

Undead are unaffected by spells with a fortitude save, unless it mentions undead specifically or also affects objects. So disintegrate qualifies. Undead have weak fortitude saves and no constitution bonus, so they will generally have problems with the spell. Since the spell makes a creature "glow and vanish" I'm assuming that a vampire won't go into gaseous form? Does anyone know if that's how it worked in 3.0? In any case, I would think the target is destroyed, not merely reduced to 0 hit points, and so a vampire wouldn't go gaseous and escape. That's the most annoying thing about vampires, imho. A lich would still reform unless its phylactery was also destroyed, however.

I don't know why disintegrate was reworked from 3.0 to 3.5, but if it is because it is too powerful then maybe it could move to 7th level in exchange for getting wording that definitively closes the gaseous form loophole.

 

[JohnGuin]

Aha - I had not seen the text about undead for sunburst. That looks exactly like what I was looking for.

Even for 3.0, I'd have to rule that the vampire would poof to gas if hit with disintegrate. From the SRD "If reduced to 0 hit points in combat, it automatically assumes gaseous form and attempts to escape." I'd say that text trumps the spell description.

In any event, I wish the rules about vampires and disintegrate would get added to the errata.

Thanks all,
John