Blackfire

A gout of necrotic fire springs from your hand. On a successful ranged spell attack, a living target must make a Dexterity saving throw or be engulfed in black flames that feed on the fuel of the creature's life force, taking 8d10 necrotic damage. The target takes half damage on a successful save and is not engulfed. As an action, you can expend an additional spell slot of 8th level or higher on your turn to deal an additional 8d10 or more (per level) necrotic damage to an engulfed target.

An engulfed target must also make a successful Constitution save or suffer 1d6 Hit Dice worth of maximum Hit Point damage and become paralyzed. The target also takes one level of exhaustion. On a successful save, the target is merely paralyzed. The target can make a Constitution save at the end of each of its turns, suffering the same effects as described above for a failure or success.

The flames are extinguished after three successful Constitution saves or if the caster loses concentration. Otherwise, the necrotic flames can be extinguished only through magical means, such as a successful Dispel Magic or Remove Curse, making an Arcana or Medicine check with a DC equal to the spell save DC of the original caster. A creature protected by Death Ward is immune to the effects of the spell unless it is cast as an epic** spell.

Any other creature attempting to touch the engulfed creature, not counting melee attacks, becomes engulfed in flames and suffers the same effects of the spell.

Any creature whose maximum Hit Points are reduced to 0 by the spell or who suffers six levels of exhaustion immediately dies, being reduced to a pile of ash. This creature can be returned to life only by the spells True Resurrection or Wish, the caster of which must succeed on a DC 30 Religion or Arcana check to restore the victim to life.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 9th level or higher (such as if you are using epic level rules), the damage increases by 1d10 for each slot level above 8th.

**At Epic Level. When using epic options (viz. 21st and higher levels), consult the relevant rulebook for epic-level scaling. For example, if you are using the 5e sourcebook Epic Legacy by 2cGaming, each epic tier multiplies the damage as if it was cast at 9th level, and the spell overcomes Death Ward. Additionally, the target automatically takes levels of exhaustion equal to the epic tier at which the spell is cast. Finally, the target must make a Constitution save against maximum Hit Point damage equal to 1d6 Hit Dice multiplied by the epic tier.