Night Terrors

The target of this spell gains no benefit from normal or magical sleep, writhing in a series of nightmares that torture its psyche and diminish its ability to perform strenuous tasks. The target doesn’t heal ability or hit point damage naturally and can’t prepare spells or regain spell slots. After one night of poor sleep, the target is fatigued (or exhausted if it was fatigued before trying to rest). A creature affected by this spell doesn’t recover from the fatigued or exhausted condition inflicted by this spell after resting, nor do spells such as lesser restoration provide any respite. Each restless night, the target takes 1d4 points of Wisdom damage, which also can’t be recovered by magic while night terrors is active.

The images from previous nightmares continue to haunt the target’s mind while awake. If the target has rested at least once while affected by night terrors and then becomes subjected to a fear condition, the target experiences the next higher level of fear than it would normally. However, per the alternate rules for fear (see page 10), this spell cannot cause a lesser state of fear to become a greater one. If the effect causing the fear condition doesn’t usually stack with other fear effects, the target’s level of fear does not increase. This aspect of the spell is a fear effect.

The affected creature can attempt a new saving throw once per day to end night terrors, but multiple attempts to rest in a given day do not afford the target multiple saves. A creature that successfully saves against night terrors ends the spell and rests normally that night but gains the benefits of only that night’s rest, not any benefits missed on previous nights.

If your campaign uses the sanity system (see page 12), the target takes 1d8 points of sanity damage instead of Wisdom damage.