Highlights
- A powerful Necromancy spell, Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting, can drain the moisture from any living thing within a 30-ft square cube, causing severe necrotic damage.
- Vampires in D&D have the ability to Bite their victims, dealing physical and Necrotic damage while reducing the target's hit points, potentially turning them into thralls.
- The Book of Vile Darkness can grant evil and destructive powers, but also physically disfigure those who read it, with features like black eyes, horns, or a damaged nose.
Dungeons & Dragons isn't exactly the kind of game that's fun for the whole family. Almost any game or module can be tailored to younger players, but when it's time for the adults to design a game, a lighthearted adventure can get dark.
How terrifying, visceral, and agonizing D&D abilities can be is entirely up to the Dungeon Master and how they've decided to interpret the D&D universe. Even something mundane can become a nightmare in the right kind of twisted mind, and the fact is that someone had to come up with these bone-chilling concepts in the first place.
8 Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting
High-level spells in D&D have a reputation for creative brutality, and that has something to do with Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting. Spellcasters can learn this Necromancy spell once they reach level 8, so not only is it a powerful spell, the target has a lower chance to resist it.
The use of the term "wilt" invokes a vision of plants, but what's really dark and terrible about this spell is that it can be used on any living thing, which means plants, animals, and people. The caster draws the moisture from every living thing within a space that equals a 30-ft square cube, dealing 12d8 of necrotic damage unless they happen to be undead or constructs.
7 Bite
Vampires have been present in D&D since the popular Curse of Strahd module, and since the 5th Edition, they have been a playable race. Characters that can shapeshift also have abilities like Bite and Claw, but this dark ability is a vampire bite.
Vampires can use their Bite to deal both physical hits and Necrotic damage, but the horrors are just beginning. The target's total hit points are reduced and don't restore until the next long rest. If the target is humanoid, and they die with this condition still active, they rise the next night as a thrall to the vampire that killed them.
6 Animate Dead
What else needs to be said? This Necromancy spell is always going to be bone-chilling and stomach-turning, and it's only third level, which is impressive because spells don't usually get this ugly until around level 6.
Casters can raise and animate both zombies and skeletons, so exactly what comes up off the floor or out of the ground is up to the Dungeon Master. It only works on humanoids, and the reagents required include bone dust and, of course, blood.
5 Mark Of Darkness
Mark of Darkness is not a spell, nor is it an Action or a magical ability for the weapon. It's a physical disfigurement that a player gets from reading the Book of Vile Darkness. It might be glossy black eyes, devil horns, a forked tongue, or even a brand or tattoo that damages or destroys their eyes or nose.
This is only one of many evil and destructive powers granted by the book, which has an equally terrifying history. An item in the Dungeon Master's Guide, this book can only be used by characters of an Evil alignment, and even they have to prove their loyalty to the powers of darkness by doing at least one evil deed a week when they carry it.
4 Stealth
Let's be honest about Stealth. It might be for the benefit of the party or the greater social good, but a thief with a heart of gold is still a thief. The fact is, Stealth is used to do some really bad things, not the least of which is stealing.
Stealth leads to some of the darker attacks in D&D when a character sneaks up on a character and finishes them with a Sneak Attack or Backstab before they even have time to reach for a weapon. It's satisfying from a gameplay point of view, and there's a reason that a cool, calculating Rogue is a popular choice among players.
3 Finger Of Death
Despite the name, the target of this dark and terrible spell doesn't have to be within reach of the caster. They can be 60 feet away, and as long as the caster can see them, they can be touched by the deadly Finger of Death.
The caster sends a bolt of negative energy through the target, which causes searing pain, which is followed by a Constitution saving throw. If they should fail, the result is 7d8+30 necrotic damage, which is essentially instant death. To add to the horror, a humanoid creature that is killed by this spell rises the next turn under the command of the spellcaster.
2 Forbidden Lore
It's one of the benefits, if they can be called that, of the Tainted condition, which is also pretty dark and found in the Heroes of Horror rulebook. It's an ability that requires Bardic knowledge, and when the character is inspired, Forbidden Lore gives them dark and hideous insights that are enough to drive regular mortals out of their delicate minds.
When a character with this ability makes a Bardic knowledge or lore check, they get a bonus if the subject at hand is supernatural, socially unacceptable, or otherwise forbidden by law or convention. The bonus starts at +2 and goes up the more Tainted a character is.
1 Darkness
It's darkness, literally, for those that take descriptions seriously. Darkness is a level 2 Evocation spell that Warlocks, Sorcerers, and Wizards can learn. It has the handy effect of obscuring the vision of any targets caught in the cloud of darkness.
That means no ranged attacks either in or out of the darkened area. It doesn't do any damage, so it can be used to hide allies along with blinding enemies depending on the situation.