What can Bestow Curse do?

[Cheiromancer]

So I'm playing a pregenerated character in a homebrew (a pickup game a friend DMed at Gen Con). Lawful Good Cleric, 6th level, with... bestow curse? Not the normal way I play LG, but that was on my list of prepared spells, so I play along.

So all session I am trying to think of how to use it- the spell description says that the suggested curses are not exhaustive. Someone takes Con damage from spending too much time in a cursed grove. I suggest "Cursing him with an excessively high Constitution." Not even I take that seriously.

Later we have to go down a ladder and through a tunnel. The sorcerer is claustrophobic. I suggest "Cursing him with an inordinate fondness of cramped spaces." Which actually I think might have worked- at least until we had to go outside again. As long as the net effect is negative, it counts as a curse, even if in limited circumstances it might be a benefit. Think of being blinded when fighting a medusa- it could save your life! But I don't do that, either.

The final combat is against a succubus who has been magically confined to an area- she can't teleport away. We don't have any cold iron or good weapons (and I don't have align weapon) so it is kind of tough going. I cast blindness on her, which helps (yep, that was on my list, too), and I'm thinking that it would be really nice if I could curse her DR down to something we could handle. After all, if you can reduce an ability score by -6 or something, why can't you reduce their DR?

So anyway, I'm just wondering what folks have used bestow curse to do, besides what is listed in the book. Which is as follows:


Bestow Curse
Necromancy
Level: Clr 3, Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

You place a curse on the subject. Choose one of the following three effects.

• -6 decrease to an ability score (minimum 1).
• -4 penalty on attack rolls, saves, ability checks, and skill checks.
• Each turn, the target has a 50% chance to act normally; otherwise, it takes no action.

You may also invent your own curse, but it should be no more powerful than those described above.

The curse bestowed by this spell cannot be dispelled, but it can be removed with a break enchantment, limited wish, miracle, remove curse, or wish spell.

Bestow curse counters remove curse.

 

[moritheil]

In 3.5, there's nothing wrong with LG using things like bestow curse (consider that Mark of Justice is essentially a higher-powered bestow curse.)

If you really want to get into variant curses, I suggest you pick up BoVD, which has interesting (and overpowered) possibilities for bestow curse. For example, it suggests that a possible curse is causing all of a character's precious metals to turn into lead - not something I would throw at players with cold iron, adamantine, or silver weapons, unless I was trying really hard for that RBDM title.

 

[frankthedm]

10% [ Natural 1&2 ]per attack of drawing an AoO or similar mishap on the cursed person and all of his/her allies.

Animal and semi natural beasts have thier attitudes to the character dropped 2 steps [usually indifferent to hostile]

Wounds cut deaper [+1d6 damge suffed per hit]

Gain enough pounds in fat to be at heavy load.

Lose 1 point of STR or CON a day as victim becomes "Thinner"

All sentient beings have thier attitude worsened 1 step in regards to the accursed character and all who associate with that character.

 

[pawsplay]

I think one important aspect of any curse is that it has to be intrinsically bad. For instance, cursing someone with an inordinate fondness for cramped spaces is pretty neutral. Cursing them, however, with a fear of cramped spaces or of open spaces would be an option, though. It is not enough that a curse be a situational inconvenience; it must weaken the target in some absolute sense.

 

[Cheiromancer]

...cursing someone with an inordinate fondness for cramped spaces is pretty neutral. Cursing them, however, with a fear of cramped spaces or of open spaces would be an option, though. It is not enough that a curse be a situational inconvenience; it must weaken the target in some absolute sense.

Look at the One Ring- the archetypical cursed ring of invisibility. One of its effects was to make its owner very attached to it- even to the point of calling it "my preciousss". Cursing someone with some kind of -philia would definitely be a curse. (I don't want to be grandma unfriendly; I just want to point it out.) So I think that attraction to an object or situation could be just as much a curse as a repulsion (or fear) of an object or situation.

What do people think of using a bestow curse to reduce a critter's DR? How much should it reduce it by?

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I think reducing DR by 5 points is fair, subject to scaling by level (eg maybe 10 points at 10th-level, 15 points at 15th-level, 20 points at 20th-level).

That would be vicious against a creature like the tarrasque. Provided, of course, you can safely approach it and cast the spell

 

[moritheil]

I don't think a third-level spell should allow one's entire group to ignore 20 points of epic DR.

 

[pawsplay]

Look at the One Ring- the archetypical cursed ring of invisibility. One of its effects was to make its owner very attached to it- even to the point of calling it "my preciousss". Cursing someone with some kind of -philia would definitely be a curse. (I don't want to be grandma unfriendly; I just want to point it out.) So I think that attraction to an object or situation could be just as much a curse as a repulsion (or fear) of an object or situation.

What do people think of using a bestow curse to reduce a critter's DR? How much should it reduce it by?

An attraction to the ring is itself bad. Being cursed with a love of elves might be embarrassing for a dwarf. But cursing someone to love closed spaces is marginal.

Having pondered this a little, I think it would work on the claustrophobic sorcerer. BUT, it would not cure his claustrophobia. He would be both attracted and phobic, and would probably start going a little loony.

 

[Sejs]

(Bad Taste) Food spoils in your presence.

(Decay) Items in your possession decay, losing 1 hp per day. Paper ages and cracks, metals become pitted and rusted, leather and cloth dry rot.

(Pariah) You're automatically blamed for any wrongdoing (similar to frank's reaction penalty mentioned above). You have no idea how that stolen object came to be in your pack, or how that woman that was almost raped got a bit of cloth torn from your cloak. Or the spell creates an Evil Twin sort of effect. There's someone always unseen (by the party, natch) out there that looks just like you, doing wrong in your name.

(Insomnia) You cannot sleep. Period. After a few days awake might collapse from exhaustion, but even then it's not restful. You're always fatigued after the first day or two and you can forget about recovering spells.

(New You) You develop a split personality without being aware of it. Think Tyler Durden.

(Light-Scorned) Holy symbols, holy water, and consecrated ground cause you great pain. Maybe subdual damage or the like.

(Bad Luck) You develop horribly bad luck. Once or twice a session the DM can just declare a roll you've just made to be a fumble. Particularly if it's for something important.

(False Visions) You keep seeing things that arn't true.. false visions of future events. You're certain that a particular woman you see is going to get hit by a runaway cart when she goes to the florist later. You KNOW it. You've SEEN it happen. The visions continue to be false, little more than an annoying distraction... until you start to doubt them...

(Manavore) You eat magic. Beneficial spells with a duration longer than one round that affect you lapse at the start of your next turn.

(Vulnerability) You're considdered 'off-type' for anything that has a category of things that are particularly vulnerable to it. Against fire spells, you've got the [Cold] subtype, against cold spell, you're a [Fire] creature. Banishment? You're extraplanar... somehow. Holy weapons? You're evil, even if you're not. (If you want to be particularly mean: Cure spells? ... you're undead...)

(Plague Carrier) You're an unwitting, unaware carrier of a particularly nasty disease with an incubation time long enough such that you won't readily notice the plague you're spreading.

(Natural Enemy) A particular category of less-than-sapient creatures hate you and will go out of their way to do you harm. Birds. Canines. Undead. Something.

 

[Cheiromancer]

Food spoils in your presence.

Items in your possession decay, losing 1 hp per day. Paper ages and cracks, metals become pitted and rusted, leather and cloth dry rot.

You're automatically blamed for any wrongdoing (similar to frank's reaction penalty mentioned above). You have no idea how that stolen object came to be in your pack, or how that woman that was almost raped got a bit of cloth torn from your cloak. Or the spell creates an Evil Twin sort of effect. There's someone always unseen (by the party, natch) out there that looks just like you, doing wrong in your name.

You cannot sleep. Period. After a few days awake might collapse from exhaustion, but even then it's not restful. You're always fatigued after the first day or two and you can forget about recovering spells.

You develop a split personality without being aware of it. Think Tyler Durden.

Holy symbols, holy water, and consecrated ground cause you great pain. Maybe subdual damage or the like.

You develop horribly bad luck. Once or twice a session the DM can just declare a roll you've just made to be a fumble. Particularly if it's for something important.

You keep seeing things that arn't true.. false visions of future events. You're certain that a particular woman you see is going to get hit by a runaway cart when she goes to the florist later. You KNOW it. You've SEEN it happen. The visions continue to be false, little more than an annoying distraction... until you start to doubt them...

You eat magic. Beneficial spells with a duration longer than one round that affect you lapse at the start of your next turn.

You're considered 'off-type' for anything that has a category of things that are particularly vulnerable to it. Against fire spells, you've got the [Cold] subtype, against cold spell, you're a [Fire] creature. Banishment? You're extraplanar... somehow. Holy weapons? You're evil, even if you're not. (If you want to be particularly mean: Cure spells? ... you're undead...)

You're an unwitting, unaware carrier of a particularly nasty disease with an incubation time long enough such that you won't readily notice the plague you're spreading.

A particular category of less-than-sapient creatures hate you and will go out of their way to do you harm. Birds. Canines. Undead. Something.

Yikes! You think these are all possible with bestow curse? I'd hate what you'd allow with a greater bestow curse!