"Ashes to ashes and dust to dust." (3.5 spell, PEACH)

[Noctis Vigil]

Disintegrating Sword
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 7
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Duration: 1 minute/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial (object)
Spell Resistance: Yes

Upon casting this spell, a blade of greenish-grey energy appears in your hand. This blade (shaped like a longsword) is highly destructive, and may only be wielded by the caster; it vanishes upon leaving the casters hand, ending the spell.

To use the sword, a melee touch attack must be made with it. Upon a successful hit, the sword does 1d4 untyped damage per caster level (maximum 25d4). Anyone brought to zero or less HP by the blade is treated as if disintegrated, following all the rules as per the spell.

If an object is hit with the blade, it also acts as per the disintegrate spell, save that it only destroys a 5-foot cube.

A creature or object struck by this sword that succeeds on its Fortitude save instead takes only 5d4 untyped damage. The sword automatically overcomes all forms of DR, and ignores the hardness of any object it strikes.

Material component: The ashes from burning a diamond worth at least 250 gold.

[Zarrgon]

So a caster has to hit with the sword and things hit get a save for almost no real damage? You sure you got that right? Normally if you need to hit with a spell, it has no save.

But a touch disintegration for twenty minutes is a long time. Maybe cut the duration down to one round a level.

[LordErebus12]

So a caster has to hit with the sword and things hit get a save for almost no real damage? You sure you got that right? Normally if you need to hit with a spell, it has no save.

But a touch disintegration for twenty minutes is a long time. Maybe cut the duration down to one round a level.

id agree with the duration change.

[Noctis Vigil]

If I drop the duration like that, I'll definitely be removing the save and/or probably upping the damage to match the original disintegrate spell. I intended the spell to do less damage but last a while and have some good utility.

[Eurus]

My issue is that a spell like this obviously lends itself more to a sort of gish/hybrid character rather than a standard squishy wizard, but the spell level is so high that it's very hard to access.