You curse a creature with a malevolent spirit, inflicting harm on them.

The target must succeed on a Charisma saving throw or else become cursed for the duration of the spell. While cursed in this way, the target takes 1d12 Dark damage at the end of each of its turns. This damage cannot reduce the target's current HP below 1. Cursna and other similar effects can only remove the curse if it is cast at an equal of greater level than this curse effect.

If the cursed creature dies, then the curse ends and the malefic spirit engulfs the soul of the creature and takes its form, provided that your total Level is not lower than the twice of the CR of the creature (or the creature's Level, if it doesn't have a CR). Otherwise, the spell ends.

The spirit has all of the statistics, features, spells, and abilities of the creature; except that it starts off with current HP equal to half of the maximum HP of the creature, it can't regain any HP through any means, nor can it regain spell slots. The spirit does not have any form of resistance, however it is weak to FORCE and HOLY damage. Neither does the spirit have any of the creature's items. Its AC is calculated as 13 + the creature's DEX modifier. In this form, the spirit lasts for the remainder of the duration of the spell. If it drops to 0 HP, the spell ends and the creature's soul is released.

You are telepathically linked to this spirit, and you can use this link to issue commands to the spirit while you are conscious (no action required), which it does its best to obey. You can specify a simple and general course of action, such as "Attack that creature," "Run over there," or "Fetch that object." If the spirit completes the order and doesn't receive further direction from you, it defends and preserves itself to the best of its ability.

You can use your action to take total and precise control of the spirit. Until the end of your next turn, the spirit takes only the actions you choose, and doesn't do anything that you don't allow it to do. During this time you can also cause the creature to use a reaction, but this requires you to use your own reaction as well.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell at 7th Level, the duration is Concentration, up to 1 hour. At 8th Level, the duration is Concentration, up to 8 hours. At 9th Level, the duration is 24 hours. Casting this spell at 9th Level grants a duration that doesn't require Concentration.