Symbol of Death

Effect: You mix the ink with the lotus extract, letting them simmer over an open flame for approximately 1 hour. Using this mixture you paint the Symbol of Death upon an object while chanting the incantation, a haunting melody. At this point you may designate creatures whom you wish to be immune to the effects of the symbol and designate a password which could be used by other creatures to bypass the effects (you are automatically immune to the effects of your symbol).

When a symbol is activated, creatures within 60 feet of the symbol become Marked for Death, with unlucky individuals dying automatically. You may affect up to 10 Physical Ranks of creatures, starting with the closest creature. For example, if the closest creature has a Physical Rank of 5, it becomes affected. If the next closest creature has a Physical Rank of 6, it cannot be affected (5+6=11), so the effect would move on to the third closest creature. It will continue in this fashion until it affects 10 Physical Ranks or there are no more creatures in the area and the effect ends.

The effects of this ritual are dependent on the creature's Physical Rank, as determined by the chart below. The symbol remains active for approximately 2 phases (or until 10 Physical Ranks have been affected).

Symbol of Death Effect

Creature's Physical Rank	Effect
7 or more	Unaffected
3-6	Suffer Half current hitpoints in damage and Marked for Death [SE, ST 5d10 vs CON]. If creature does not save within 20 segments, it dies.
2 or Less.	Target dies

The symbol is activated by one (or more) of the following conditions, which you determine at the time of casting: the symbol is looked at, read, willingly touched, passed over (if on the floor) or passed through (if on entryway or portal). The symbol may only be activated by a creature within 60 feet of the symbol, and therefore cannot affect creatures through magical forms of surveillance (such as Scrying, etc). A covering placed over the symbol will prevent it from being activated by being looked at or read, but will not prevent the symbol from activating by touch, passing over, or passing through it.

The Symbol may be detected with a successful Investigate check [DC 35] or via an ability to detect masked magical auras (such as Reveal Magic). Once detected, the Symbol may be removed magically or disarmed with a Trapsmith or Thievery check [DC 40]. If an attempt is made to remove the Symbol, and it fails, the Symbol activates.

The ritual's power remains tied to the Paintbrush used to create the symbol. If the paintbrush is destroyed, the ritual is immediately dismissed. Additionally, if the paintbrush leaves the plane the symbol is on, the ritual is immediately dismissed.

This is considered a Death effect.