How to Cause Negative Levels

[ThinkMinty]

So, if a player wanted to get their hands on some level drain, where would they get it?

Off the top of my head, all I'm remembering is two spells;
+Enervation (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/e/enervation)
+Energy Drain (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/e/energy-drain)

...but there's probably more. I'd mention Fell Drain, but it's from 3.5, so I'm unsure how much it counts.

[Serafina]

A two-level dip into Souleater (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/other-paizo/s-z/souleater) is easy to achieve (as long as you are neutral evil) and gives you access to at-will energy drain for 1 negative level.. Which can then be used with any conductive (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/magic-weapons/magic-weapon-special-abilities/conductive) melee weapon.

Now aside from the Alignment- and Worship-requirements this class also damns you to hell, and requires a caster level check to be raised. The latter is fairly simple though, only being 10+class level, so most likely 12.

You can take 6 levels in the class up upgrade the level drain to two per hit, though doing so will cost you another caster level, you'll be stuck with the bad chassis for longer and the worth of the other class levels can be debatable.


Other than that:
A Bones-Oracle (http://archivesofnethys.com/MysteryDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Bones) can take the Soul Siphon revelation (also available through Oracle VMC), though it's only one level a few times per day that only lasts a few minutes.
A Warpriest with the Death Major Blessing (http://archivesofnethys.com/WarpriestBlessingDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Death) can make melee touch attacks to inflict a single negative level, potentially as a swift action. Once again this only lasts 1 minute.


The straight-up highest possible amount of negative levels you can inflict with one attack is by using Energy Drain, using that gun-wielding wizard archetype that is otherwise crappy (Spellslinger) to get a x3 crit modifier, and getting a critical hit while delivering it through your gun. That way, you can potentially inflict 24 negative levels in one touch-attack hit, no save, only SR.
Of course, that requires a crappy archetype (or a one-level wizard dip to get it), a 9th-level spell and rolling a 19 or 20 if you have improved critical (rays).

An actual build to inflict negative levels would be something more like this:
- five levels of Warpriest, two of Souleater, five more of Warpriest, four more of Souleater.
- the Death Blessing
- A Conductive weapon
That way, you can full attack, inflict two negative levels on one hit per round, and lots of times per day then make a touch attack as a swift action to inflict another one. That can be three negative levels per round, which is pretty nasty - though of course shut down by death ward or fighting certain enemies.

[avr]

If you can command undead there's obviously ways and means there. Magic items like the sword of life stealing can inflict negative levels, and if it's more about style than substance the beguiling gift spell and certain items of opposed alignment to the target can bestow a negative level.