Ekbom's Imaginary Insects (3.5e Spell)

''Terrified of insects but determined to win over his fellow student Faith, the apprentice Ekbom developed this spell in order to train himself to overcome his phobia. The illusion apparently worked too well, however, for prolonged exposure to the spell caused Ekbom's unfortunate demise at his own hand, frantically trying to kill the 'bugs' all over his body with a letter opener. Enforcement found his research notes while cleaning out his bunk and continued the spell's use in their more nefarious activities.''

The target of this spell must make a Will save. Should they fail, they become convinced that hordes of insects cover every inch of their entire body and are burrowing into their flesh. The creature will thus attempt to kill the insects, in effect attacking itself in melee, with any means available to it. Doing so takes precedence over any other action the creature may otherwise have taken. The creature hits itself automatically, but this attack cannot cause a critical hit or be modified by such things as Power Attack or precision-based damage (like Sneak Attack).

Because the creature is attacking itself and thus distracted, other creatures that threaten it are considered to be flanking it even if they would normally not qualify for flanking bonuses.

This effect may be cancelled with a break enchantment, remove curse, or a similar effect, but even when this occurs the affected creature is still shaken for the remainder of this spell’s duration.