Zone Perilous

This spell creates a luminous gray sphere or zone in the air. It can be cast so as to pass or partially pass through the ground or solid objects such as walls; its functioning is unimpaired by the presence of such solid matter. Contact with any part of this area aids undead creatures and harms living creatures except for the caster, who is immune to the effects of his or her own zone perilous. Undead creatures regain 2 lost hit points for every round in which they make contact (or remain in continued contact) with a zone perilous. This benefit can never bestow extra hit points to undead creatures.

Living creatures suffer 1 hit point of damage and must roll a saving throw vs. spell at a -2 penalty for their every entry into or additional round of continued contact with a zone perilous. If the saving throw fails, the living being suffers 1d4 points of additional damage, loses 1 point of Strength (which returns after two turns have passed), and feels a sensation of terrible cold. Living creatures whose Strength or hit points drop to 0 (zero) or less while in the gray sphere do not deteriorate further. They are held in stasis until the zone expires or they are removed from it. Healing magic of any sort cannot aid living creatures who are in a zone perilous; attempts to use such aids causes them to be wasted without effect.

The material components of a zone perilous spell are a drop of water, a fragment of bone that a shadow (the creature) has touched, and a hematite gemstone worth at least 25 gp.