Curse – Starving Heart

A curse of love as we move towards St. Valentine’s day.

“Abandoned again,” Larak cried.  “I offered her my love and she left me.  As the others have.  Like them, she will pay,” he growled and started to sharpen his knife.

Curse of the Starving Heart

A curse used by jilted lovers, jealous rivals and others who have let their own hearts be poisoned by the loss of love.  It requires the hair and some bodily fluid of the victim, the ashes of romantic poetry or a sacred text, spoiled mother’s milk and considerable blood from the caster.  This all must be brewed in a iron pot over flames fed by stolen wood for a night and a day.  The resulting sludge must be sealed in a clay pot with a lead stopper inscribed with the victims name and buried under a flowering plant under a full moon while the victim is sleeping nearby.  If the pot is found, cleansed by magic and then destroyed, the victim will be totally freed from the curse and the caster will suffer wracking pains when it is destroyed.

While the curse is in effect, the victim is very susceptible to charms of those they find attractive, falling in love at the drop of a hat.  They will fawn over their new love, obsessing over them, spending as much time as they can with their new love and generally being love struck in the most annoying ways possible.  This will last until their new love reject them, then the victim will become murderous toward their former love, spending the next week seeking revenge.  After the victim has achieved their vengeance or a week has passed, they are then ready to fall in love again and the cycle begins anew.

Pathfinder Game Effects:
The Curse of the Starving Heart
School necromancy (curse) [mind effecting, vengeance]; Level curse 5
Components V, S, M (as listed above)
Casting Time As above
Range Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target One named target
Duration Permanent (see above)
Saving Throw None; Spell Resistance No

See casting notes above for use by non-spell casters.  When cast by a non-spell caster, it has an effective caster level of the curse caster’s level plus their Charisma or Wisdom modifier (whichever is higher) with a minimum of 11.  Non-spell casters take 1d6 points of each Constitution and Charisma damage when casting this spell.

The description above describes the effects, mechanically the victim suffers a -6 profane penalty to resist requests from their love and a -1 moral penalty to all skill checks when away from their love.

If the jar is destroyed, the caster suffers a -4 pain penalty on attack rolls, skill checks, and ability checks for 1d4 minutes.

Spell-casters suffer 1d2 point of each Constitution and Charisma damage when casting this spell.