Hopefully part one of a new series of messed up wizard spells, such as Power Word Scrunch.
5th Level Transfiguration
Casting Time: 1 Action
Range: 150 Feet
Target: A creature within range and line of sight
Components: V, S, M (a few drops of blood and an eagle feather)
Duration: Instant
Classes: Sorcerers/Wizards/Magic-Users, really messed up Clerics, and druids
You select a target within range, and they must make a spell save against your DC. If they succeed, they take half damage and there are no additional effects. If they fail, they take 8d6 points of bludgeoning damage as their ribs break and crack from within, lungs ejecting out their back. If this brings a target to zero HPs, they die immediately and all enemies within 30 feet and line of sight must make a saving throw as well or be frightened for a turn. If the target is not killed, they take an extra 4d6 points of bludgeoning damage as they cough up blood.
At higher levels: Every additional level gives an extra 2d6 initial points of damage, and increases the radius of the fear effect by 10 feet.
Wizard spells, in my opinion, lack a lot of the terror that they should have. Fireball is scary because of what it can do, but hitting players with entirely new spells is crucial to keeping them on edge.
This spell is explicitly designed for mass combat. One of the reasons large armies hate fighting necromancers is this spell. Nothing like watching your commander literally get his or her back blown out by the enemy to make one consider if they really need to storm that tower…
This one traces it’s history back to the Dark-Age Iron Kingdom era.