Two Tedious Spells
Lightning Bolt is a boring spell; it's just Fireball in a straight line. Finger of Death is also boring, despite the Doom Metal sensibilities of its name, because it lacks any visual appeal. The solution?The Ruinous Bolt
LVL 6, MU (Or Wiz, Sor, Storm Cleric, or whatever)
A bolt of lightning cracks from your fingertip, lancing toward its mark. Make a ranged attack roll (use INT bonus if playing a contemporary edition) against a target within 120', ignoring non-magical armor and shield bonuses to AC. If hit, target must make a CON save (or Death/Poison, etc.) or die. Target takes 5d6 damage on a successful save. Human-sized, non-magical objects, human-sized potions of larger objects, and creatures with 4HD or fewer, are obliterated without a save. Bolt automatically hits immobilized targets.
There, a sexy little death-spell with a bit of spectacle to it. It's also kinda logical, since being struck by lightning, irl, carries a significant chance of death (Google says 10-30%, but this is magical lightning, and probably has a higher fatality rate).
Chain Lightning is a little more interesting, because it hits multiple targets, and isn't just a linear copy of fireball, so I'd keep it as is, but maybe reduce its LVL to 4 or 5.
A friend pointed out that it's a shame to waste such a metal name, like "Finger of Death", so, just make Finger of Death a LVL 7 spell, with no attack roll or line of effect required (the target just needs to be within range, so you can point at them). The target must save or wither into a lifeless husk/explode in a shower of gore (your choice). The target still takes 5d6 damage on a successful save, from residual withering/rupturing. Non-magical plants and creatures of 5HD or less don't get a save.
