Whip of Shar

Whip of Shar was a divine evocation spell granted to priests of Shar, Mistress of the Night. It created a whip of force that could cause injury, wracking pain, and even turn undead creatures.

Effects
When cast, this spell created a beam of black energy surrounded by a purple nimbus that flickered and writhed. It was, in diameter, and flexible like a whip or rope. The whip only affected animate creatures and undead—it had no affect on inanimate objects and no strength to move, loop, tie, bind, constrict, or entangle anything. It connected to and extended from the caster's hand and could not harm the caster.

When the whip struck a creature, it did damage much like a mundane whip. In addition, if the target did not resist the magic of the spell, they were wracked with excruciating pain for one minute, unable to attack, and subject to dropping things they were holding. Each successive hit with the whip on the same target became increasingly easier to resist as they slowly became numb to the pain. If the target was an undead creature, it experienced a turn effect as if by a priest of much greater experience than the whip-wielder.

Components
This spell required verbal and somatic components to cast, plus material components that consisted of three sharp pieces of black obsidian or black glass, and a long, black hair obtained from an evil creature.

History
This spell was available to devout followers of Shar at least as far back as ancient Netheril. It was one of the spells known to be contained in Gorothir's Girdle. The Sage of Shadowdale, Elminster Aumar, speculated that priests of other deities, such as Cyric, Loviatar, Talona, and the Dead Three could be granted this spell if they knew how to properly ask their deity for it.

Appearances

 * The Ruins of Undermountain—Undermountain Adventures