Vampiric Touch

Vampiric Touch drains hit points from the target and temporarily adds them to the caster.
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==Description==
==Gameplay==
The caster selects a single target creature to apply the Vampiric Touch to, using the cursor, and then click/select it.
The target can be nearly any creature, including allies, neutral or enemies - neutral creatures damaged by the spell will become hostile, and others in the vicinity will probably also become hostile as well.
The caster will move to touch range to the targeted creature and attempt to cast the spell - if successful the target is potentially exposed to the spell's effects.
The caster doesn't need to roll to hit the target; the spell launches with a 1-foot range and automatically exposes the target to the spell's effects.
A text will display reading "Vampiric Touch", and a Necromancy school casting effect is shown emanating from the caster.
Assuming the spell wasn't blocked by some sort of resistance or protection, then the following occurs:
* The victim sustains variable magic damage based on the caster's mage level, capping at level 12 for 6d6 damage.
* The victim will show a "Vampiric Hand" animation over their sprite, a brief lighting and fade from color effect, as well as an audible sound effect.
* The caster's current Hit Point value is boosted by an equivalent amount to the damage rolled against the victim - if the victim suffered 15 magic damage, then the caster's HP rises by 15 also.
The hit points gained from this spell have 1-hour duration and otherwise behave just like ordinary HP - they can be reduced/lost by damage, and they can act as a healing effect if the caster was carrying damage before the spell casting.
These temporary hit points can put the caster above their usual maximum HP value, at least until the extra HP expires, or incurred damage uses them up.
While the initial Vampiric Touch spell is active (for 1-hour), a second spell casting won't be allowed until the first one is either dispelled/removed or expired.
Any extra temporary HP available to the caster will be removed if the caster is affected by a Dispel Magic effect.
For dual- and multi-classes, the protagonist's bhaalspawn version of the spell scales with the average of their classes (rounded up).
Since the bonus hit points last for 1 hour, this spell might also be used by characters before combat (e.g. on summons or on companions who get subsequently healed) to start combat with additional HP.
This spell can potentially be blocked by Magic resistance and completely negated if the target is protected by Spell Immunity: Necromancy.
Additionally, any Spell protections type defense that has a capacity to absorb this spell's 3 Power level will block it as well, such as Minor Spell Deflection or Minor Globe of Invulnerability.
This spell won't work on creatures that are Undead or constructs like golems.
==Notes==
The spell is implemented as 2 spells in Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition:
* The main spell casts the protection from itself, so that it cannot be stacked.
* It then casts the 2nd spell (SPWI314a), which does the damage part:
**Casting this spell is subject to Magic resistance.
**If the spell lands, the drain effect bypasses Magic resistance which makes sure the caster always gets heal.
The spell is implemented as a single spell in the original edition of Baldur's Gate II. The extra hit points received by the caster are:
*Blocked by their Magic resistance
*Not affected by Magical damage resistance
*Dispellable
==Bugs==
*In Enhanced Edition, Undead creatures and golems are immune to this spell. However, this immunity is bypassed when the game is paused exactly when the Vampiric Touch is cast, which can be reliably achieved with the game option auto-pause on spell cast. This is due to the bug described in the Contagion article, because the immunity is dependent on the order the effects of Vampiric Touch are processed in. With the bug, they're all processed independently from one another.
==Trivia==
The Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition ruleset version of this Wizard spell requires that the caster make a successful attack roll onto the target, otherwise the BG video game spell version is nearly identical to the PnP original.
==Where to obtain its scroll==
===The Black Pits===
====Sold by====
* Dinguer the Mad 
===Baldur's Gate & Tales of the Sword Coast===
====Dropped by====
*Krystin
*Marcellus
*Nemphre (also a reward for Arkion's Bloodstone Amulet)
*Semaj
* Sheila
*Sunin
*Winski Perorate
====Sold by====
*High Hedge Estate 
*Sorcerous Sundries 
===Shadows of Amn===
*Adventurer Mart
*Galoomp's Store
*Copper Coronet
===Throne of Bhaal===
*Arcana Archives
==Gallery==
OG VT 1.png|A neutral creature is attacked with a Vampiric Touch spell, causing 21 damage, and boosting the caster's current HP from 115 to 136. The victim will turn hostile, and neutrals in the vicinity.
==Mod content==
Spell Revisions mod has changed this arcane spell, revising its effects, scaling and duration. See below for description:
Vampiric Touch
Level: 3
School: Necromancy
Range: Touch
Duration: Special
Casting Time: 3
Area of Effect: 1 creature
Saving Throw: None
When this spell is cast, the target loses 3 hit points for every two caster levels, to a maximum drain of 30 for a 20th level caster. These hit points are added to the caster’s current hit points, with any hit points over the caster’s normal maximum treated as temporary additional hit points. The temporary hit points last for 5 turns.
Note that this spell may not be cast multiple times to radically increase the caster’s hit points. The caster must wait for the first Vampiric Touch spell to run its course before casting another.
==External links==
* 
* 
* Advanced D&D 2nd Edition Wiki - Vampiric Touch (Wizard Spell)
Category:Bhaalspawn abilities
Category:Random treasure
Category:Magical damage
Category:Touch spells