looking for good damage over time spells

[NecroRick]

Am looking for good damage over time spells for a low-optimisation / theme build (please none of the usual replies "just be batman, lolz" or "cast save or dies dumbo")

Am willing to consider divine or arcane, will be willing to think outside the box (but I don't want to smash the box to tiny pieces), eg spiritual weapon or produce flame.

Since it is a theme, I'm looking for low level DoT as well as the high level monstrosities.

Known:

Summoning
monstrs/natures ally/undead/giant vermin/swarms

Buffs
divine favour/magic weapon/enlarge person/divine power/disrupting weapon/righteous might

Direct Damage
1st
magic stone (ish - has anyone made this not suck?)
thunderhead
produce flame
snowball


2nd
spiritual eapon
heat metal
chill metal
acid arrow
flaming sphere


3rd
clutch of orcus

4th
burning blood

5th
wall of fireb

...

9th
implosion

[Khatoblepas]

Creeping Cold and it's greater variant is a nice one, it does 1d6 damage per round it's been up (so 1d6, then 2d6, then 3d6). Extend that and you have quite a nice spell, especially if you have some way of extending it twice, and you could even empower it, I think.

Creeping Cold is 2nd level, Greater CC is 4th.

Power Word: Pain is a spell that pretty much ends all low level opponents.

Slime Wave is deadly and does CON damage over time. 7th level spell.

[ericgrau]

acid fog
mage's sword: it's force damage, so good against resistant/incorporeal/DR/etc. foes; otherwise damage is a below par
incendiary cloud
grasping hand
metamagic versions of any of them

[Saph]

Belker Claws from Spell Compendium is my personal favourite. Level 2 arcane, lets you get some use out of your d12s!

[dextercorvia]

Belker Claws from Spell Compendium is my personal favourite. Level 2 arcane, lets you get some use out of your d12s!

How does that one work. You hit them and then that take 2d12 over X rounds, or do you have to hit them again?


There is Power Word Pain (RotD) and Streamers (Shining South).

[Psyren]

Streamers is not certain. By RAW they should only attack once, since you can only ready one action.

How do you feel about psionics? Energy Current is a fantastic DoT - has multiple targets, you choose the energy type on the fly, you choose how much you want to augment it to (which boosts the DC as well as the damage), then hand it off to your psicrystal (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/solicitPsicrystal.htm) to concentrate on and free up your actions to do other things.

[Saph]

How does that one work. You hit them and then that take 2d12 over X rounds, or do you have to hit them again?

You hit them once and they keep getting hurt. Does an amazing amount of damage for a 2nd-level spell. Better than Scorching Ray even, and unlike Scorching Ray it's not stopped by fire resistance.

[Machinekng]

Cloudkill would work. It deals Con damage instead of Hitpoint Damage, but think about it this way. On average, for every 2 points of Con damage a foe takes, it loses 1hp per HD, becomes less resistant to anything that targets Fortitude, and the fog prevents monsters from easily escaping. If the wind's right, this can become a vicious cycle that can easily dispose of your enemies.

Autokilling everything with 3 HD or lower is a nice bonus, same with the save-or-die with 4 HD-6HD. If your character has an evil slant, you could easily wipe out a hamlet with a widened cloudkill (if the wind's right).