Bitterwood Pandemic

This spell is a part of the Bio Instability spell chain and can be found in the Bio Instability rune stone.

The Bitterwood Pandemic was one of the worst plague outbreaks to strike Nor'Ova following the Great Magic War. Over half of the people of the time got hit by the terrible plague known as Bitterwood - a plague that got its name from how it causes the inflicted to mimic a rotting tree while still living, feeling every bit of pain that comes with the rotting process. It is a terrible plague that still sparks a great amount of fear even to this day. Just the mere mention of the plague is enough to cause everyone to panic. The decay spell, Bitterwood Pandemic, is said to have been originally developed with that very fear in mind. While the spell doesn't cause an infliction of the actual plague, its effects resemble the plague closely and the name itself generates fear. That is why when casting the spell, unlike with other spells, the seniumancer will verbally declare that they are summoning the Bitterwood plague. This act alone requires every enemy target to make a Hard Mental Balance check against fear, should they fail they will fear the seniumancer for the next 1d8 rounds and will fear the inflicted for the next day. The inflicted target will share this fear of the seniumancer, but does not fear itself. 

When casting Bitterwood Pandemic, the seniumancer knowingly calls upon The Worm who is lying dormant within the seniumancer's runic soul. The spell offers The Worm the following instructions: pull upon the power of decay to mimic Bitterwood. The Worm knows well of the Bitterwood plague, and through the power of The Worm the terrible spell is brought down upon the target. The target begins to feel every effect of Bitterwood without the actual rot taking place. For each round the target will receive 1d12 Vitality damage. This damage increases by an additional 1d4 for every following round. Each round after the first round of the spell the target's speed and strength traits will also decrease by 1.

• Round 1: 1d12 Vitality Damage
• Round 2: 1d12 + 1d4 Vitality Damage, -1 to all Strength and Speed Traits
• Round 3: 1d12 + 2d4 Vitality Damage, -2 to all Strength and Speed Traits
• Round 4: 1d12 + 3d4 Vitality Damage, -3 to all Strength and Speed Traits

The damage  and trait penalties continue to increase by 1d4 and -1 each additional round.  When the spell finally has run its course, no further damage is done and the traits are back to normal. The target however will continue to be struck with fear of the seniumancer for the rest of the battle.