Sins of the Father (3.5e Spell)

''"Begun by blood, by blood undone." This was the snippet of wisdom imparted by this spell’s creator on his victims. Little did they know that those words would spell slow but certain doom for their future progeny for generations to come.''

As all geas spells, this incantation charges the foe with a task set by the caster. In addition to not by its very nature resulting in the target’s immediate or certain death, the task set before the subject must be something they (and/or their progeny) are able to foreseeably achieve; if this is not the case, the spell's duration is instead only 1 day per caster level.

A target who is successfully geased takes 1 point of damage per Challenge Rating they possess every day that they refuse to follow orders. This damage is permanent and cannot be healed by any means; treat it as a reduction of the target’s maximum hit point total. They are also rendered sickened, but attempting to resume following orders will alleviate this effect after one hour. Because positive reinforcement is always nice, attempting to follow the task laid out by the caster also restores lost hit points at a rate of 1 per day (up to the target's normal total).

When the subject dies with the task left uncompleted, the curse of the geas is not lifted, but instead passed on to the subject’s most able child (determined by age). If none of their children are able to perform the task, the curse will continue to siblings and their children, repeating until a suitable candidate is found. If even after this winnowing the most appropriate blood relative is still a child, the spell (and the compulsion to follow the geas) is activated once they reach adulthood and will remain dormant until that time comes. Once affected, the current geas victim becomes aware of the task they are supposed to perform and their relationship to the original subject of the curse, but not any additional details beyond what instructions were imparted to the original. Changing the subject of the geas in this fashion also resets the one day per level duration, if necessary.