Draindoom - Phaerimm

This deadly variant of the lifedrain spell "leapfrogs" out of control, recasting itself at random intervals, draining nearby magic to do so (which is why some areas of both the Anauroch desert and the Myth Drannor ruins are "magic dead," drinking the magical energy of magical items brought into them).

The spell destroys liquid water outside the bodies of living things, in a succession of 70-foot-radius spheres. The first sphere is centered on the caster, and the spell will cast itself again 2d12 times, at random locations within 1 mile of the original casting site. No one can control where these later castings will occur, or when: the second always occurs 1d4 days after the first, the third 1d12, the fourth 2d20, and all subsequent spontaneous castings are 1d100 days after the previous one.

These spontaneous castings require no caster or material components. They always drain any magical items within their area of effect (saving throws vs. "disintegrate" apply, to avoid this draining) when forming.

Water cannot fall into, form within, condense within, or flow into the spherical area of spell effect. Living creatures find conditions in the area uncomfortably dry; for each turn spent there doing anything more than resting, a creature loses 1 hit point due to dehydration. Plants can't grow in a drain-doom field and desert-like conditions soon occur.

A draindoom can't be affected by dispel magic or by water magics: only a limited wish spell cast on either the original casting site, or the site of the most recent spontaneous recasting will halt it. A properly worded wish spell can also end the spell. Otherwise, its effects last and continue until the moment of the caster's death.

Casting a draindoom permanently drains 1d12+1d4 hit points from the caster, if this drain kills the caster, the draindoom takes effect only at two sites: the place of casting and one "jump." The effects last for one year from the moment of the caster's death.

The material components of this spell are a piece of hone and a fire of any sort and size. The bone is placed in the flames during casting, and both are consumed in a flash by the spell. The spell's area of effect is centered on the caster.

Notes: Restricted to phaerimm; common.