After careful consideration, I have found the perfect fix for Harm. Let's just make it clear right now that Harm is effectively an instant-death spell as it stands right now. Few beings ever survive after being hit by Harm, so although it's not instant death by default, it is not only as effective, but actually MORE effective than instant death, solely because it gives *no save*, unlike actual instant-death spells. The lack of a saving throw is what breaks Harm, plain and simple. No amount of debate can change that.
Even by the DMG's standards, Harm is broken. This is a spell that can potentially do thousands of points of damage and yet gives *no save*. There is not a single other spell in the entire game, of any level, that can match the damage potential of Harm. Even Epic Spells fail to stand up to the mighty Harm. This all proves that Harm IS, in FACT, broken as-is.
Here is my solution.
Harm
Necromancy
Level: Clr 6, Destruction 6, Drd 7
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will partial (see text)
Spell Resistance: Yes
Harm charges a subject with negative energy that causes the loss of all but 1d4 hit points. Upon a successful save, the subject instead takes 6d6 points of damage.
If used on an undead creature, Harm acts like Heal.
Basically, this keeps it's full power-as-is, so as not to nerf it completely, but it also solves the problem of it not having a save, unlike every other instant-death spell. In addition, the damage dealt after the save is now more than Slay Living offers, but still less than Destruction, balancing it nicely.
