Level: Druid 4, Wu Jen 4 (wood)
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: One nonmagical wooden object or a volume of wood; or one plant creature
Duration: Instantaneous or 1 round/level; see text
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
By crushing a live termite between your teeth and reciting the necessary words of power, you finish casting the spell.
When you cast this spell, an insidious rot immediately taints any wooden object or plant creature you touch. Any unattended nonmagical wooden item smaller than 6 feet in diameter, or a 3-foot-radius volume of a larger wooden object (such as a wooden door), is instantly destroyed by wood rot.
In combat, you can use the spell to attempt to sunder any wooden or wooden-hafted weapon; the weapon or its wooden portion is destroyed on a successful melee touch attack. Attempting to sunder a weapon generally provokes attacks of opportunity, and wood rot has no effect on wooden or wooden-hafted weapons that strike you, even if you hold the charge.
Against wooden shields or armor, you also make a melee touch attack. Such targets too large to be destroyed outright take a –1d6 penalty to their armor or shield bonus on a successful hit and are rendered unusable if the penalty exceeds the bonus. Any attack against a wooden object discharges the spell, and wooden magic items are immune to the effect of wood rot.
Against plant creatures, wood rot deals 3d6 points of damage +1 point per caster level (maximum +15) on a successful attack. Against plant creatures, the spell lasts for 1 round per level, and you can make one melee touch attack per round. Once it is used to make an attack against a plant creature, wood rot cannot be used to attack or destroy wooden items.
Material Component: A live termite.
Source: Spell Compendium, page 241. Previously published in Complete Arcane, page 116, as a 5th-level spell. “Wu Jen 4 (wood)” added back to Level entry, matching the lower spell level.