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In many ways, this spell is an improved version of the permanency spell, adapted for the laying of curses. It permits the caster to weave a normally temporary spell upon an individual and make it permanent. Casting the spell, or even desiring to learn it, is an evil act.

There is no linear limit to the range of this curse, but the victim must be on the same plane. Sufficient magical warding may block the spell. On the Demiplane of Dread, the spell cannot affect someone outside the domain in which it was cast. Casting such a vengeful spell is cause for a Ravenloft powers check.

The spells that can be used in conjunction with this are antimagic shell, babble, bestow curse, claws of the umber hulk, confuse languages, con­tagion, emotion, enervation, enlarge, feign death, feign undeath, fist of stone, insatiable thirst, irri­tation, levitate, lower resistance, Malec-Keth's flame fist, neverending nightmare. Otto's irre­sistible dance, reduce, suggestion, Tasha's uncon­trollable hideous laughter, and unlock.

The wizard must cast the associated spell dur­ing the casting of Allisandro's binding curse. None of these spells actually harm the victim because they are bound to him. For example. Otto's irresistible dance does not produce fatigue, nor does it prevent the individual from sleeping (although he will present an odd sight dancing in his sleep), Malec-Keth's flame fist will not burn the character's fist, but could harm him if he tries to scratch an itch.

Removing this spell is most difficult. A limited wish spell will dispel the effects for one day per level of the caster. Only a full wish can eliminate Allisandro's binding curse.

The material component is an item from the victim's body (see The Casting).

This loathsome spell was created by Allisandro Tselikov, a member of the proud Vistani, several hundred years ago. When the members of his tribe learned that he had been delving into the dark secrets of necromancy and attempting to harness dark powers, they east him out. He wan­dered, alone and broken, eventually becoming the first of Ravenloft's darklings (a monstrous race). In his isolation, he returned to the research that he had been forced to abandon. Eventually he crafted this spell to exact revenge upon the Vis­tani for the wrong he fell they had done him.

The Casting: In order to cast this spell, the wizard must have some portion of the subject's body. This can range from a lock of hair or nail clippings to a severed finger or limb. The spell is long and involved, requiring three hours to cast. It is highly symbolic and involves a great deal of ritual and ceremony. The wizard must have at least two assistants who aid him in the weaving of this dark magic. Neither of them can be under any form of compulsion (such as a threat or mag­ical charm) and both must be fully aware of the act that they are involved in. The assistants need not be spellcasters themselves.

At the end of the casting period, the material component is thrown into a brazier of hot coals where it is utterly consumed in a flash of sickly light and a boiling cloud of vile-smelling vapor, At that instant, the caster devotes a portion of his own life force to the spell, being drained of 1 point of Constitution, permanently.

Notes: Uncommon in the Ravenloft setting; very rare elsewhere. The spell can be researched only on the Demiplane of Dread.

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