Darkray's Avenger
(Abjuration)

Range:  0
Components:  V, S
Duration:  Special
Casting Time:  3 turns
Area of Effect:  Special
Saving Throw:  None

The wizard can cast this spell on himself only, to avenge himself against future death. Anyone who kills the caster, even if the wizard is later resurrected, becomes the victim of a special curse. The curse manifests 1d4 turns after the killing. There is 95% chance for the victim to be affected. Exceptionally intelligent beings (avangions and the like) receive a normal saving throw versus death magic to avoid the effects. The magic can be dispelled before the wizard's death only by a higher level caster. To determine the effects of the curse, roll on the following table:

	D100 Roll	Result
	01-20	Reduce three random, different ability scores to 2d4+1 each.
	21-40	Maximum hit points is 20% of the original; cannot increase until curse lifted.
	41-60	-5 penalty to attack, damage (minimum damage is 0), Armour Class and saving throws.
	61-80	Magical attacks against the victim cause maximum damage; the victim receives a saving throw versus spell of 18, with no modifications whatsoever.
	81-00	This applies only if the killer is a person, roll again if not. Every other NPC who meets the killer senses something very bad about him. Nobody trusts him, since he carries a "smell of death". Such a person will always receive at least a "cautious" reaction from NPCs and is considered to be at most "indifferent", never friendly himself, no matter what he does. Reactions are left to the DM. They may include hostile mobs, ceaseless hunting by templars, animals attacking on the spot etc.

There are five known ways to remove the curse. Other than these, the curse might be removed if a sufficiently powerful wizard could research a custom spell for this purpose. This would certainly require some body part of the original caster.
The spell may be removed:
•	With a limited wish or wish, cast for this purpose. Nothing fancy is required, a simple job provided you have the wish. It is also possible to remove the curse using a 7th-level priest spell analogous to remove curse, such as remove bane, but this is very hard to find. Remove bane is considered an equivalent of a wish in this case.
•	With a remove curse, cast by a wizard or priest of a higher level than the caster. The victim must save versus death magic, with no bonuses for magical items or the like counting; success removes the curse while failure means that no attempt to remove the curse with remove curse can be done ever again.
•	With a dispel magic, cast by a wizard or priest of higher level than the caster who has never met him personally. Even then, only one attempt per level is allowed. Each failure increases the dispelling difficulty by one.
•	The killer may decide to atone for his deed. As soon as this thought is sincerely formed in his mind, the curse is lifted for three months. During this period the killer must have the caster resurrected, by any means. If he succeeds, the curse is permanently lifted. If during this time he acts in any way towards other ends, for example trying to lift the curse with another way, it returns immediately and further atonement attempts fail. At the DM's discretion, the three-month period may be extended or the curse lifted temporarily or even permanently, depending on the situation.
•	With the intervention of a sorcerer-king or a divine being.

