Bonesplinter (3.5e Spell)

With a harsh utterance you snap the bone in your hand, and your enemy screams in unbearable pain, not knowing how close to death he has just become...

This spell weakens the bones of the target creature, creating thousands of microfractures throughout each bone. A creature who fails their fortitude save is treated as having 1 hp per Hit Die for all purposes related to death by hit point loss. The next attack that deals physical hit point damage shatters the already weakened bones, usually killing the creature outright. Even a glancing blow is often enough to start a chain reaction of bone breakage.

This condition is permanent until the target is healed for 3 hp per caster level. This healing need not be all at once, multiple healing effects all count towards the amount needed, but any damage taken subtracts from amounts already healed. Heal DCs for an affected creature are doubled if using mundane healing.

(Example: Gus the 16th-level human Duskblade fails his Fortitude save against a Bonesplinter spell cast by an 18th-level wizard, reducing his effective HP to 16. He successfully identifies the spell that hit him so he retreats and drinks a potion of cure critical wounds, curing him for 28 HP. He needs 54 HP to remove the effect (three times CL 18). Unfortunately, he then gets hit by a charging foe and takes 45 points of damage. That puts him at -1 HP (16+28-45), so Gus is now unconscious and dying unless he is stabilized.)

The target takes a cumulative -2 penalty on their fortitude save for every size category larger than medium it possesses: the additional weight and mass creates more strain on the bones, making the spell's job easier.

On a successful save, the creature takes 1d8 damage per two caster levels as their skeleton is ravaged by the spell.

Material Component: A small, dry bone that must be broken when the spell is cast.