Is it me or is death knell a crap spell?

[Runestar]

At higher lvs, the PCs are likely going to be making their saves against a 2nd lv spell, even if it targets their weakest save.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Death Knell. It's how animal sacrifice is done. (Especially by level 11 clerics just about to cast magic vestments and a chained greater magic weapon while using their bead of karma).

It also creates a good explanation why some cultures might use euphoria or numbness producing drugs on their prospective human sacrifices (as some anthropologists have suggested was common practice in South America)--wisdom damage reduces will saves.

 

[Kylas]

Buy a chicken (PHB, really cheap).

Cast Bestow Curse on it to give it a "–6 decrease to an ability score" -- selecting Wisdom as the ability score you decrease.

Cast it again to give it "–4 penalty on attack rolls, saves, ability checks, and skill checks."

Assuming a chicken has similar stats to other birds, it has Wis 12 or so. The -6 decrease puts it at Wis 6, for -2 on Will saves. The other -4 penalty knocks this down further.

Choke your chicken. Use unarmed strikes to keep the thing unconscious. Keep its HP down below -1 but above -10. Keep it handy, just in case combat breaks out.

You'll have to wake it up so it can eat and drink every other day, so you'll need a second double-cursed chicken. But why stop there? Have four or five of them, just in case one of them makes its Will save.

When combat breaks out, grab a double-cursed chicken and Death Knell it. It will almost certainly fail its Will save and you get a cheap power-up.

Thematically, this would work out very well for an evil cleric. You could give him a voodoo flavor, just for fun.

Wow this is such an awesome idea. Unfortunately I just finished fasting and praying and donating 25% of my properties to Church o' Pelor to earn me an atonement spell.

 

[Shin Okada]

Wow this is such an awesome idea. Unfortunately I just finished fasting and praying and donating 25% of my properties to Church o' Pelor to earn me an atonement spell.

You don't know the power of the dark side!

 

[el-remmen]

I like the spell, because unlike most, it has flavor!

Plus, it is perfect for the main bad guy to use on dying minions/allies to pump himself up. . .

 

[akbearfoot]

I think the BoVD had an improved version of Death Knell....I think it was called Consumptive Field? I'm going from memory and its been a long time since I cracked the spine on that book....

I think it was a 4th level spell that lasted rounds per level and automatically hit anyone who dropped to -1 within close range. Awesome spell for a BBEG in a room with several loyal suckers....err I mean followers. Pretty sure it was also an evil spell, so not so good for the PCs.


Then again if you are using this book, why cast death knell when you can cast dance of ruin instead, lol.

 

[vesuvious]

it also depends on whats aloud in your camapin

for example do to previous campaigns my DM let me make a costume prestige class for a god who came into existence and one of the abilities is to slot gems into your natural attacks to gain benefits of spells

this would allow someone rolling as a fighter to auto cast death knell on all dyeing opponents after hitting them which can make it an incredible spell sense in this case it worked more as an enchantment

 

[JasonZZ]

As a death effect, it prevents the use of Raise Dead.

 

[captnq]

Line up 20 or so 2 HD victims. Murder them one at a time with a wand. Get +20 to your caster level. Cast a spell to be hit with permanency. Watch people try to dispel magic a CL 35 level. Expensive, but you get what you pay for.