To be quite honest I do not know what to write about. The last two weeks have been a rollercoaster in my and my family’s life. Job losses, job changes and problems with everything from a toaster to my car have pretty much beaten the hell out of any creative juices I may have. That said, the re-kindling of my “beast”, the PC I built eight years ago and have managed to keep current, is blunted by the thought that the money I have spent on the new RAM for it could have gone to far more important things like groceries or bills.
My favorite poem of all time, one I have had memorized since middle school, is Samuel Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. I have always enjoyed the lyrical style of the poem, the visuals it created in my head and the true message of the poem. That message is that we, not God or some other external power, are the makers of our own fate by doubting and turning away from grace/luck/faith/what-have-you. For me that has always been an important message and I’ve always strived to find the personal fault in the happenings around me. Today though, as another blow comes to inflict upon my family I am starting to think that maybe, through some unintentional action I have shot my albatross and now wear it around my neck.
~*~
So given my sour mood and the directions of my thoughts:
Curse of the Albatross:
Spell Level: Cleric 9th Level
Range: Touch
Duration: 1d12 days + level
When cast by a Law aligned Cleric the target is, for 1d12 days + the target’s level, cursed to wear the corpse of an Albatross around his neck. This albatross cannot be removed by physical, magical or divine means until its duration has closed. While wearing the Albatross the target receives a -5 on all to-hit and damage rolls (but cannot be less than 1) for melee, ranged and magical attacks. The target’s Saving Throw reverts back to that of a level 1 character of his or her class and all to-hit attacks against the target receive a modifier equal to the Curse of the Albatross’s spell level.
Note: The caster of this spell must pass a saving throw with a penalty of 4 or suffer have the number of days as the target of the spell.
~*~
A powerful spell, one that if used by any referee should be handled with much care … just like anything born out of a bad mood I suppose.
2 thoughts on “An Albatross Around My Neck”
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I certainly feel your pain and understand the situation. All I can say is cool spell, and here's hoping that better days are on their way.
Thank you, Giles and sorry for the late return. Better days do seem to be around the corner. I'm glad you like the spell!